Summary
Introduction:
This article provides an analysis of the prevalence of flavored e-cigarette use among adults in the United States, stratified by age, smoking status, and purpose for vaping. The study aims to inform policies that reduce the tobacco-related cancer burden.
Key Points:
* The study uses data from the July 2018 Current Population Survey Tobacco Use Supplement, a nationally representative cross-sectional adult survey.
* Current flavored e-cigarette use was reported by 1.6% (95% CI ¼1.47% to 1.69%) of all respondents.
* among current vapers, the percentage of those who used flavored e-cigarettes was higher for adults aged 18-24 years (89.6%), 25-34 years (86.7%), and 35-44 years (76.0%) than for adults aged 45 years and older (60.4%, Ps<.001).
* Flavored e-cigarette use was higher in never smokers (89.8%) than in current (72.9%), long-term former (73.9%), and recent former smokers (80.4%, Ps/C20.009).
* Individuals who vaped to quit smoking and currently used flavored e-cigarettes constituted 0.9% (95% CI ¼0.82% to 0.99%) of all adults.
* The authors suggest that e-cigarette regulatory policies should consider implications across distinct subpopulations separated by their potential for vaping-related harm or harm reduction.
* The FDa has announced enforcement actions against unauthorized cartridge-based e-cigarette products in flavors other than tobacco and menthol, but has not announced intentions to implement comprehensive sales restrictions on all flavored e-cigarette products.
Main Message:
The study highlights the importance of considering the potential for vaping-related harm or harm reduction across distinct subpopulations in e-cigarette regulatory policies. While flavored e-cigarette use prevalence is low among US adults overall, it is common for current vapers and disproportionately prevalent among never smokers and other subpopulations that might experience harm from vaping. Premarket review decisions and other future regulatory actions that limit the availability of e-cigarettes in nontobacco flavors could reduce adolescent and young adult vaping, but may also have unfavorable population health impacts if they deter adults who might prefer flavored vaping products from using e-cigarettes for the purpose of quitting smoking.
Citation
Leventhal aM, Dai h. Prevalence of Flavored e-Cigarette Use among Subpopulations of adults in the United States. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2021;113(4):418-424. doi:10.1093/jnci/djaa118
