All gates lead to smoking: The ‘gateway theory’, e-cigarettes and the remaking of nicotine

The idea that drug use in ‘softer’ forms leads to ‘harder’ drug use lies at the heart of the gateway theory, one of the most influential models of drug use of the twentieth century. Although hotly contested, the notion of the ‘gateway drug’ continues to rear its head in discussions of drug use—most recently in the context of electronic cigarettes. Based on a critical reading of a range of texts, including scholarly literature and media reports,...