Believing that exposure to e-cigarette vape is safe for children, parents are increasingly vaping both at home and in car, finds a study.

The study showed only 38 per cent of parents who smoked cigarettes and 22 per cent dual users were found to strictly restrict cigarette use in both home and car. On the other hand, 56 per cent of both e-cigarette users and dual users reported using e-cigarettes in their cars with children around. The research included 750 parents.

"The finding that a large majority of parents are vaping e-cigarettes inside homes and cars is an alarming trend," said lead author Jeremy Drehmer at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the US.

"Our results suggest parents perceive it's safe to use electronic cigarettes and are not taking the same precautions they do to protect their children from exposure to traditional cigarettes," Drehmer said.

Although e-cigarettes, found comparatively safer than cigarettes in terms of harmful substances released, may prove no less harmful when used in the presence of children or inside homes and cars. Carcinogenetic volatile organic compounds have been detected in the urine of e-cigarette users, and e-cigarettes leave deposits of nicotine on surfaces when used inside, according to the paper published in the Pediatrics journal.

Drehmer said parents have been misled by the marketing of vaping products to believe that the aerosol produced by them is harmless to children. The researchers said tobacco majors market e-cigarettes as healthy products without warning about the harms to infants and children from nicotine and ultra-fine toxic particles that spread into the air and coats surfaces.

"Paediatric healthcare providers need to help set the record straight and inform parents that e-cigarette vapour is not safe for children," Drehmer suggested.