Young people's perspectives of e-cigarette use in the home

Introduction:
This text provides an in-depth exploration of young people's understandings of e-cigarette use in the home environment. The study includes young people from both advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds and their perspectives on e-cigarette use by both adults and young people in domestic spaces. The text also discusses sources of knowledge on the topic of e-cigarettes and opinions regarding the accessibility of e-cigarettes.

Key Points:

* The study included 64 participants from two schools of contrasting socio-economic backgrounds.
* Participants were aged 11-12 or 16-17 years and the gender split was broadly even.
* Ever-use of e-cigarettes was reported by roughly twice the proportion of 16-17 year olds in the advantaged school compared to the disadvantaged school.
* The only participant who reported being a current user of e-cigarettes attended the disadvantaged school.
* Participants reported witnessing e-cigarette use in the homes of relatives, friends, acquaintances and employers.
* E-cigarette use was reported as predominantly taking place in the same physical locations as tobacco smoking, both indoors and outdoors.
* Strategies to reduce harm or irritation from e-cigarette vapor were more malleable than those for tobacco smoke, with age, stress and weather conditions all revealed as modifiers of space-related practices.

Main Message:
The text highlights the importance of understanding young people's perspectives on e-cigarette use in domestic spaces. The findings indicate that notions of harm or risk associated with tobacco smoke might be transferred to perceptions of e-cigarette vapor, and that many e-cigarette users, and/or family members of e-cigarette users, may feel that e-cigarette use should be restricted in places where tobacco smoking is proscribed. The text also suggests that e-cigarette use in the home may be employed to limit the exposure of younger family members to tobacco smoke. However, there is uncertainty about the potential harm that might result from exposure to e-cigarette vapor and a broadly held belief that e-cigarette vapor is likely to be less harmful than tobacco smoke.

Kirkcaldy, Andrew, Hannah Fairbrother, Kate Weiner, and Penny Curtis. “Young People’s Perspectives of e-Cigarette Use in the Home.” Health & Place 57 (May 2019): 157–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.04.005.