Adolescent Use of Different E-cigarette Products

Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of the use of different types of e-cigarette products among adolescents. It highlights the characteristics of e-cigarettes used by adolescents and the relationship between the frequency of e-cigarette use and e-cigarette characteristics. The study uses data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, a nationally representative longitudinal study.

Key Points:

* The study found that adolescent users prefer open systems, especially more frequent users.
* The preference of current and former smokers for open systems with tank reservoirs may be attributed to these products' improved ability to deliver nicotine to the bloodstream over first-generation closed systems.
* Most adolescents use open-system e-cigarettes, and frequent users are even more likely to use open-system e-cigarettes.
* The majority of regular users use rechargeable devices that are refillable.
* Among those who continued to use and had reported using closed systems (nonrechargeable and/or nonrefillable) in wave 1, most had progressed to open systems (rechargeable and refillable) in wave 2.
* Little is known about the product preferences of adolescents, particularly more frequent users.
* Understanding the landscape of teenaged e-cigarette use may lead to targeted counseling strategies that will be used to highlight the risks of these different systems.

Main Message:
The study highlights the need for further research on the product preferences of adolescents, particularly more frequent users, to inform targeted counseling strategies that will help highlight the risks of different e-cigarette systems. The study also emphasizes the need for policies that restrict adolescents' access to nicotine-containing products and regulate the use of flavor additives in e-cigarettes used by youth. The lack of quality control regulation should be of urgent concern and should be acted on immediately without waiting for premarket reviews. Products that are potentially mislabeled or contaminated with nicotine should be treated as defective and dangerous to youth and removed from stores.

McMillen, Robert, Susanne Tanski, Karen Wilson, Jonathan D. Klein, and Jonathan P. Winickoff. “Adolescent Use of Different E-Cigarette Products.” Pediatrics 142, no. 4 (October 1, 2018): e20180260. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-0260.