May 04, 2015 01:54 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

New research suggests that young people are just as likely to try electronic cigarettes as smoking.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo found that approximately 20 percent of youth between the ages of 15 and 19 experiment with vaping, the same number who try cigarettes.

"E-cigarettes have become increasingly popular among Canadians," David Hammond, lead author on the report, said in a statement. "Now one in five youth will try vaping before graduating high school."

The devices create a vapor by heating a chemical solution of propylene glycol, flavoring agents and sometimes nicotine. Unlike regular cigarettes, e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco and no combustion takes place when they are used.

"There is no question that e-cigarettes are a harmful consumer product because of all of the chemicals users inhale. However, because they don't produce smoke, they are significantly less harmful than smoking," said Hammond, who testified to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health in November.

The Canadian government has not approved the sale of e-cigarettes containing nicotine, despite an increasing number of smokers using the products to help them quit or during times when smoking is not allowed. Nicotine is the substance that is primarily responsible for the addictiveness of tobacco.

"At the moment, we have an uncontrolled experiment with e-cigarettes: millions of Canadians are trying products with unknown safety standards for a wide variety of reasons. There is an urgent need for even more evidence to guide policy in this fast-moving area," Hammond said.

In total, more than 2.5 million Canadians have tried e-cigarettes, with smokers and young people making up the largest demographic of ongoing users.

The findings are detailed in the journal  Tobacco Use in Canada: Patterns and Trends.

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