E-cigarette curiosity among U.S. middle and high school students: Findings from the 2014 national youth tobacco survey

Introduction:
This text is a summary of a research study examining the relationship between curiosity about e-cigarettes, perceived harm, comparative addictiveness, and e-cigarette advertisement exposure among U.S. middle and high school students. The study aims to determine the prevalence of e-cigarette curiosity among youth who have never used e-cigarettes, examine if lower levels of perceived harm and addictiveness of e-cigarettes are associated with higher levels of curiosity among never users of e-cigarettes, and assess whether increased exposure to e-cigarette advertisements is associated with higher levels of curiosity about e-cigarettes.

Key Points:

* The study used data from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), a cross-sectional, school-based, pencil-and-paper questionnaire self-administered to U.S. middle and high school students.
* Curiosity was measured with the item; Have you ever been curious about using an electronic cigarette ore-cigarette such as Blu, 21st Century Smoke or NJOY?
* In general, ever combustible tobacco users reported higher levels of curiosity about e-cigarettes compared to never combustible tobacco users.
* Among never combustible tobacco users, higher perceptions of absolute harm and comparative harm were associated with lower levels of curiosity, while perceptions of comparative addictiveness were not significantly associated with curiosity.
* Among never combustible tobacco users, respondents who identified as non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, or non-Hispanic 'Other' had higher odds of being highly curious about e-cigarettes than non-Hispanic Whites.
* Exposure to point-of-sale e-cigarette advertising was associated with higher odds of having high curiosity, while exposure to 1V /movie e-cigarette advertising was associated with lower odds of having some curiosity.

Main Message:
The study found that curiosity about e-cigarettes is prevalent among U.S. middle and high school students, particularly among those with lower perceptions of harm and addictiveness of e-cigarettes. Additionally, exposure to e-cigarette advertisements, particularly at point-of-sale, is associated with increased curiosity about e-cigarettes. These findings suggest that continued efforts to implement proven tobacco control policies and strategies are critical to preventing youth use of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Furthermore, monitoring and regulating e-cigarette advertising, particularly at point-of-sale, may be an important avenue for reducing youth curiosity and use of e-cigarettes.

Margolis, Katherine A., Anh B. Nguyen, Wendy I. Slavit, and Brian A. King. “E-Cigarette Curiosity among U.S. Middle and High School Students: Findings from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey.” Preventive Medicine 89 (August 2016): 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.05.001.