E-cigarettes are considered by some to be safer to use than traditional cigarettes, but scientists say that some significant dangers still remain. Research now suggests that using e-cigarettes can make users more prone to addiction to other drugs.

According to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, rats and mice addicted to nicotine are more severely addicted to drugs such as cocaine when they’re introduced to it.

“With e-cigarettes, we get rid of the danger to the lungs and to the heart, but no one has mentioned the brain,” says coauthor Dr. Eric Kandel of Columbia University. (Reuters)

Paul Asay has written for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for PluggedIn and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He recently collaborated with Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, on his book The Good Dad. He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.