Summary
Background
There is an increased need to understand how e-cigarette flavors may contribute to e-cigarette
uptake and use among youth. We examined the relationship between perceived ease
of flavored e-cigarette use and e-cigarette use susceptibility and progression among a
nationally representative sample of U.S. youth never tobacco users.
Methods
The wave 1 (2013–2014) and wave 2 (2014–2015) surveys of PATH Study were used.
Youth never tobacco users (ages 12–17) who reported whether flavored e-cigarettes were
easier to use than unflavored e-cigarettes at wave 1 (n = 6,983) were included in the study.
Multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between perceived
ease of using flavored e-cigarettes (wave 1) and e-cigarette use outcomes including e-cigarette
use susceptibility (wave 1) and e-cigarette initiation and past-30-day use (wave 2).
Results
Overall, 21.2% of the sample perceived flavored e-cigarettes easier to use than unflavored
e-cigarettes; and 28.9% of the sample were susceptible to using e-cigarettes at wave 1, and
7.5% and 2.0% initiated e-cigarettes and used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days at wave 2,
respectively. Among those who perceived flavored e-cigarettes easier to use, 41.0% were
susceptible to using e-cigarettes at wave 1, and 10.6% and 3.4% initiated and used e-cigarettes
in the past 30 days at wave 2, respectively. Perceiving flavored e-cigarettes as easier
to use than unflavored e-cigarettes at wave 1 was positively associated with e-cigarette use
susceptibility at wave 1 (AOR = 1.43, CI = 1.21, 1.69), and e-cigarette initiation (AOR = 1.32,
CI = 1.12, 1.67) and past-30-day use (AOR = 1.25, CI = 1.10, 2.47) at wave 2.
Citation
Chen-Sankey JC, Kong G, Choi K. Perceived ease of flavored e-cigarette use and e-cigarette use progression among youth never tobacco users. PLoS ONE. 2019;14(2):11. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0212353
