Factors Associated with E-Cigarette Quit Intention Among Adolescents in the United States.

Introduction:
This article examines the factors associated with e-cigarette quit intention among U.S. adolescents using the Stages of Change of the Trans-theoretical Model and the Socio-Ecological Model. The study focuses on adolescents who exclusively use e-cigarettes and utilizes data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study. The study aims to identify socio-ecological factors that can guide adolescents to quit e-cigarettes and inform e-cigarette cessation prevention and treatment programs, as well as effective regulation of e-cigarettes in the United States.

Key Points:

* The study used cross-sectional data from Wave 4 of the PATH survey public use files, which included data from 14,798 youth.
* The study defined current exclusive e-cigarette users as those who reported using e-cigarettes but no other tobacco products in the past 30 days.
* The stages of change for intention to quit were assessed using a single item, and respondents were classified into pre-contemplation, contemplation, and preparation stages.
* Individual-level factors, interpersonal-level factors, and environmental/policy-level factors were examined for association with the stages of change for intention to quit e-cigarettes.
* At the individual level, preparators were more likely to believe that nicotine in e-cigarettes was "very/extremely harmful" to health and people cause a "lot of harm" to themselves when they use e-cigarettes.
* At the interpersonal level, contemplators and preparators were more likely to report that their parents/guardians talked with them about not using e-cigarettes, and preparators were less likely to report that their parents/guardians will "not be very upset" if they found out about their use of e-cigarettes.
* At the environmental/policy level, preparators were more likely to report that someone refused to sell them e-cigarettes because of their age than pre-contemplators and contemplators.
* Contemplators and preparators were more likely to report that they "often/very often" noticed health warnings on e-cigarette packages, and preparators were more likely to report that they "often" saw anti-tobacco advertisements.

Main Message:
The study's findings suggest that harm perception, influence of family, and e-cigarette health warnings are important factors associated with the stages of change for intention to quit among adolescent e-cigarette users. These factors can guide public health practitioners and researchers in designing multi-level e-cigarette cessation interventions for adolescents. It is critical to effectively regulate e-cigarettes in the United States to protect adolescents from nicotine addiction and potential health risks associated with e-cigarette use.

Ahuja NA, Kedia SK, Jiang Y, et al. Factors Associated with E-Cigarette Quit Intention Among Adolescents in the United States. Substance use & misuse. 2022;57(14):2074-2084. doi:10.1080/10826084.2022.2130000