Summary
Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of the associations between e-cigarette policies and adolescent use and access to e-cigarettes. The study links data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey with state-level e-cigarette policies such as minimum legal sales age (MLSa) laws, taxes, and smoke-free legislation. The authors examine the immediate and longer-term consequences of these policies on adolescent e-cigarette use and access.
Key Points:
* The study uses data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 2015 to 2019, with a sample size of 503,154 adolescents.
* The authors examine the associations between MLSa laws, taxes, and smoke-free legislation for e-cigarettes and adolescent use and access to e-cigarettes.
* The study finds that while MLSa laws for e-cigarettes were associated with slight increases in e-cigarette use, they were no longer associated with use after at least one year.
* E-cigarette taxes were associated with decreases in use both immediately and over time.
* Smoke-free legislation prohibiting e-cigarettes indoors was associated with slight increases in current use immediately after implementation but was associated with decreases in use after at least one year.
* MLSa laws were associated with decreases in purchases of e-cigarettes in stores and increases in acquiring them from someone else, particularly among 18-year-olds.
* Smoke-free legislation was also associated with decreases in purchases in stores by 14-year-olds but increases in online purchases by 18-year-olds.
* The study highlights the importance of understanding the immediate and longer-term consequences of e-cigarette policies and addressing adolescent access alongside policies aimed at reducing use.
Main Message:
The study highlights the complexities and potentially unintended consequences of e-cigarette policies aimed at reducing adolescent use and access. While e-cigarette taxes and smoke-free legislation are likely effective at reducing adolescent use and frequent use among e-cigarette users in the longer-term, statewide MLSa laws for e-cigarettes could have no effect on use over time. MLSa laws could also reduce purchases of e-cigarettes in stores but increase access to these products from someone else. The study emphasizes the need for measures to address access alongside policies aimed at reducing use, especially as the tobacco control policy landscape continues to evolve.
Citation
Pastrana a, Baum CF, hawkins SS. associations between e-cigarette policies and adolescent use and access to e-cigarettes. Drug and alcohol dependence reports. 2023;7:100157. doi:10.1016/j.dadr.2023.100157
