Identifying changes in e-cigarette use among a longitudinal sample of Canadian youth e-cigarette users in the COMPASS cohort study, 2017/18-2018/19.

Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of the changes in e-cigarette use patterns among a large, longitudinal sample of Canadian youth who were current e-cigarette users between 2017/18 and 2018/19. The study also explores whether e-cigarette use patterns differed among sociodemographic groups in the sample. The text includes details of the study design, participant demographics, and key findings.

Key Points:

* The study used two years of linked longitudinal data from students participating in the COMPASS study, a CIHR-funded school-based prospective cohort study.
* At baseline, 40,887 students in grades 9-11 participated in the study, and 4,071 current e-cigarette users were identified for the final linked sample.
* Students reported the number of days they used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days in 2017/18 and 2018/19.
* Over one year, 49.2% of current youth e-cigarette users escalated, 12.8% reduced, 20.2% stopped, and 17.8% maintained their frequency of e-cigarette use.
* Baseline e-cigarette use frequencies varied according to use pattern.
* Current youth e-cigarette users with higher baseline vaping frequencies had lower odds of escalating and stopping e-cigarette use and higher odds of reducing e-cigarette use relative to maintaining the same frequency of use.
* The study found that while about half of current youth e-cigarette users increased their frequency of e-cigarette use over a 1-year period, a significant number also decreased or stopped vaping at a time when the prevalence of youth e-cigarette use increased rapidly in Canada.

Main Message:
The study highlights the need for longitudinal data to monitor and evaluate changes to e-cigarette use patterns that may be in response to changing public health policies. The findings suggest that there is a significant number of youth who are interested in quitting or reducing e-cigarette use, and that data showing changes in vaping patterns among current youth e-cigarette users can aid in evaluating the impact of e-cigarette prevention policies and programs. The study also underscores the importance of developing more robust prevention and cessation efforts tailored to the needs of current youth e-cigarette users.

Cole AG, Short M, Aalaei N, Gohari M, Leatherdale ST. Identifying changes in e-cigarette use among a longitudinal sample of Canadian youth e-cigarette users in the COMPASS cohort study, 2017/18-2018/19. Addictive behaviors reports. 2022;16:100458. doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2022.100458