Perceived addiction to vaping among youth and young adult regular vapers.

Introduction:
This text is a summary of a research study examining factors associated with self-reported addiction to e-cigarettes among youth and young adults. The study used a survey of 1048 Canadians aged 16-25, with 578 regular e-cigarette users included in the analysis. The survey assessed self-perceived addiction, demographic characteristics, sensation seeking, vaping characteristics, smoking status, and exposure to information about vaping.

Key Points:

* The study found that women, former cigarette smokers, daily vapers, and those vaping for more than a year were more likely to report higher levels of perceived addiction.
* High sensation seeking youth, those reading blogs and websites about vaping, those frequently dripping, and those using higher nicotine strengths had a greater likelihood of higher perceived addiction than their respective counterparts.
* The study used a single-item perceived addiction measure, which was found to be correlated with validated addiction scales and biomarkers of nicotine exposure.
* Quota sampling was used to oversample regular e-cigarette users, and the survey was primarily conducted via social media.
* The survey also assessed demographic characteristics, sensation seeking, vaping characteristics, smoking status, and exposure to information about vaping.
* The study found that 13% of regular e-cigarette users reported feeling "very addicted," and 41% reported feeling "somewhat addicted."
* The study highlights potential opportunities for targeted programming for education and treatment, as well as potential opportunities for policy change such as maximum allowable nicotine strengths.

Main Message:
The main message of this study is that more than half of youth and young adult regular e-cigarette users feel they have some level of addiction. The study identifies several factors associated with higher perceived addiction, including gender, smoking status, vaping frequency, nicotine strength, and exposure to information about vaping. The findings suggest potential opportunities for targeted programming for education and treatment, as well as potential opportunities for policy change such as maximum allowable nicotine strengths. The study highlights the importance of understanding and addressing e-cigarette addiction among youth and young adults, particularly given the increasing popularity of e-cigarettes in this age group.

Camara-Medeiros A, Diemert L, O’Connor S, Schwartz R, Eissenberg T, Cohen JE. Perceived addiction to vaping among youth and young adult regular vapers. Tobacco control. 2021;30(3):273-278. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2019-055352