A majority of U.S. smokers still prefer traditional cigarettes after trying vaping, a new poll found.
A poll from Morning Consult released Monday found that 57 percent of habitual smokers who tried vaping still prefer smoking. In addition, only 12 percent of U.S. adults have vaped, or still do, compared with 44 percent who smoke traditional cigarettes or currently do.
The data shows that 22 percent of Americans prefer vaping, while 14 percent like both habits equally.
[Opinion: Despite JUUL crackdown, vaping is still (way) safer than smoking]
Among Americans who now vape or have habitually done so in the past, 39 percent prefer vaping and 29 percent prefer smoking cigarettes.
The jury remains out on whether e-cigarettes are a successful deterrent to stop smoking altogether, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“While e-cigarettes have the potential to benefit some people and harm others, scientists still have a lot to learn about whether e-cigarettes are effective for quitting smoking,” the agency said.
CDC data shows that 3.2 percent of U.S. adults were current e-cigarette users. The agency added that minors are more likely to use e-cigarettes than adults, with more than 2 million middle- and high-school students using e-cigarettes in 2016.
The poll comes as the Food and Drug Administration is in the midst of a widening crackdown on retailers that sell e-cigarettes to minors. The FDA has gone after more than 40 retailers for illegal sales.
Morning Consult surveyed 2,203 adults for the poll and it has a margin of error of two percentage points.
