Predictors of E-Cigarette Initiation: Findings From the Youth and Young adult Panel Study.

Introduction:
This text is a summary of a longitudinal study examining predictors of e-cigarette initiation among youth and young adults in Canada. The study identifies factors associated with initiating e-cigarette use among this population, which can be useful in the development of tailored programs to prevent e-cigarette use.

Key Points:

* The study used data from the Youth and Young adult Panel Study conducted from February 2018 to March 2019.
* Participants were recruited using quota sampling and were asked about their patterns of e-cigarette use over a 12-month period.
* The study found that regularly seeing anyone use e-cigarettes and seeing anyone use e-cigarettes very often or always at baseline were associated with initiating e-cigarette use among youth and young adults.
* The study also found that youth and young adults who had perceived moderate or great risk of regularly vaping without nicotine exhibited lower odds of initiating e-cigarette use.
* Other factors associated with initiating e-cigarette use included alcohol use, cannabis use, friends using e-cigarettes, friends smoking, friends using cannabis, and perception of risk of vaping without nicotine.
* The study had limitations, including self-report bias, a predominately female sample, a small sample size, and a convenience sampling method.
* The findings of the study suggest that interventions to prevent youth and young adult initiation of e-cigarette use should focus on reducing social exposure to e-cigarette use and increasing awareness of the risks associated with e-cigarette use.

Main Message:
The study highlights the importance of identifying predictors of e-cigarette initiation among youth and young adults to inform interventions and policies aimed at preventing e-cigarette use. The findings suggest that reducing social exposure to e-cigarette use and increasing awareness of the risks associated with e-cigarette use may be effective strategies to prevent e-cigarette initiation among youth and young adults. however, further research with larger, population-based samples is needed to confirm the study's findings.

Jayakumar N, O’Connor S, Diemert L, Schwartz R. Predictors of E-Cigarette Initiation: Findings From the Youth and Young adult Panel Study. Tobacco use insights. 2020;13. doi:10.1177/1179173X20977486