associations between reasons for vaping and current vaping and smoking status: Evidence from a UK based cohort.

Introduction:
This text presents the findings of a study examining the characteristics of young adults who vape and the reasons behind their vaping habits. The study also investigates the association between various reasons for vaping and continued vaping and smoking behaviors in this group. The results of this study can provide valuable insights for public health strategies regarding e-cigarette use.

Key Points:

* The study utilized data from the avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (aLSPaC) in the UK, focusing on young adults who had completed questionnaires on vaping and smoking at ages 23 and 24.
* Participant characteristics, such as maternal smoking, BMI, risk-taking, education/employment, parenthood status, and mental health, were assessed for differences between never vapers, former vapers, and current vapers.
* Reasons for vaping included quitting smoking, cutting down on cigarettes, curbing cravings, pleasure, curiosity, and having friends who vape.
* Logistic regressions were performed to explore the association between retrospectively-reported reasons for vaping and vaping/smoking behaviors at age 24.
* Multiple imputation was used to increase the sample size available for analysis, minimizing bias due to attrition.
* The study found that vaping to quit smoking was associated with a higher likelihood of quitting smoking and continuing to vape, while vaping to cut down on cigarettes was associated with a higher likelihood of continuing to smoke and vape.
* Vaping out of curiosity was associated with a lower likelihood of continuing to vape but a higher likelihood of continuing to smoke.

Main Message:
The primary message of this study is that intention to quit smoking is crucial for young adults to successfully stop smoking using e-cigarettes. Public health strategies encouraging vaping specifically for smoking cessation may be effective in helping young adults quit smoking. The findings also emphasize the need for further research using stronger causal inference methods to better understand the relationship between vaping reasons and smoking cessation outcomes.

Khouja JN, Taylor aE, Munafò MR. associations between reasons for vaping and current vaping and smoking status: Evidence from a UK based cohort. Drug and alcohol dependence. 2020;217:108362. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108362