Does Seeking E-Cigarette Information Lead to Vaping? Evidence from a National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and Young Adults

Among the weighted full sample (at baseline), intention to vape was reported by 4.35% as definitely will vape, 7.96% probably will, 15.80% probably will not, and 71.89% definitely will not. E-cigarette information seeking was reported by 5.20%. The average (SD) number of close friends who vape was 0.71 (1.14) out of 4, and 23.54% reported that vaping was allowed in their home.
Among the weighted re-contact sample (at follow-up), intention to vape was reported by 4.22% as definitely will vape, 8.68% probably will, 16.63% probably will not, and 70.48% definitely will not. E-cigarette information seeking was reported by 5.92%. The average (SD) number of close friends who vape was 0.71 (1.12) out of 4, and 24.82% reported that vaping was allowed in their home.
According to the cross-sectional analyses, e-cigarette use was significantly associated with information seeking (OR=6.50, p <0.001) and e-cigarette vaping intention (OR=11.36, p<0.001) after controlling for smoking status, demographics, and confounders; the association with information seeking (OR = 4.36, p <0.001) remained significant even after controlling for vaping intention. According to the lagged analyses, e-cigarette use at T2 was significantly predicted by intention to use e-cigarettes at T1 (OR = 3.29, p <0.001) and e-cigarette information seeking at T1 (OR=2.84, p<0.001), after controlling for baseline smoking and vaping status, and confounders. The interactions of e-cigarette information seeking and age group, and baseline vaping or smoking status were not significant in predicting vaping behavior.
The longitudinal mediation analyses showed that e-cigarette information seeking at both T1 (indirect effect = 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01–0.05; total effect = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.18–0.36) and T2 (indirect effect = 0.07; 95% CI: 0.04–0.10; total effect = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.28–0.43) significantly mediated the relation between vaping intention at T1 and vaping at T2. The authors concluded that "both vaping intentions and e-cigarette information seeking predicted vaping or using e-cigarettes six months later; in part, the influence of intentions on use was mediated by information seeking" (p. 302).

Yang, Q., Liu, J., Lochbuehler, K., & Hornik, R. (2019). Does Seeking E-Cigarette Information Lead to Vaping? Evidence from a National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and Young Adults. Health Communication, 34(3), 298-305.