(ABC News) Vaping...Billed by its creators as the 'safe' alternative to smoking cigarettes. Inhale just the vaporized nicotine, and users are spared the toxins of traditional cigarettes. They were supposed to help people smoke less or quit entirely.

But a worrying new study from researchers in Canada suggests otherwise. They found that teens who tried e-cigarettes were much more likely to begin smoking traditional cigarettes within a year, compared to teens who never tried vaping at all.

This effect was particularly strong in teens with bigger allowances: teens who spent more money per week were more likely to pick up smoking.

All this a worrying backslide: youths today are using nicotine products at an increasing rate for the first time in decades, following a steady decline since the 1960s.

So think twice when your teen picks up a vaporizer - nicotine is still addictive, and vaping it may lead them back to cigarettes - and to all the health hazards they bring along.