Abstaining college students’ motives to use e-cigarettes: A brief report.

Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of a study examining the motivations of e-cigarette abstainers and the factors that may influence their decision to initiate use. The study aims to create a scale to assess current e-cigarette abstainers’ motivations to abstain from or initiate e-cigarette use.

Key Points:

* The study was conducted with participants from two universities who had never used e-cigarettes.
* Participants completed an online survey indicating their e-cigarette abstention and initiation motivations, perceived vulnerability to the negative health effects of e-cigarettes, willingness to use, and intentions to use e-cigarettes.
* Analyses revealed three factors of abstention motivations (avoiding health outcomes, low incentive to initiate, and concerns regarding social approval of use) and three factors of initiation motivations (tobacco alternatives, social reasons, and coping with negative emotions).
* When demographics were controlled for, only coping motivations significantly positively related to abstainers’ willingness and intentions for future e-cigarette initiation.
* Only the avoiding health outcomes abstention motive was positively related to participants’ perceived vulnerability to the negative health effects of e-cigarettes.

Main Message:
The study provides initial support for a scale to assess what motivates e-cigarette abstainers to initiate use. The results suggest that coping motivations may indicate readiness to initiate e-cigarettes. Understanding the motivations of e-cigarette abstainers can help in preventing e-cigarette initiation and inform anti-tobacco advertising strategies.

AuBuchon KE, Kracke-Bock J, Dodge T, Stock ML, Blanton H. Abstaining college students’ motives to use e-cigarettes: A brief report. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 2021;82(6):801-806. doi:10.15288/jsad.2021.82.801