Relationship Between Spending on Electronic Cigarettes, 30-day use, and Disease Symptoms Among Current Adult Cigarette Smokers in the US

The mean CPD was 15.4 (normally distributed; SD=1.00) and mean expenditure on e-cigarettes was $40.00 (not normally distributed; IQR Q1=$0.00 and Q3=$25.00). Being a current e-cigarette user was not significantly associated with any disease symptoms; the only exception was ‘trouble falling asleep’, for which current e-cigarette use was protective (AOR 0.58; 95% CI=0.40-0.85). In the same model, an increase of 10 CPD was significantly associated with an increased odds of wheezing (AOR 1.34; 95% CI=1.10-1.65) and shortness of breath (AOR 1.23; 95% CI=1.01-1.49). For each $100 increase in e-cigarette expenditures, there was a statistically significant increase in the odds of reporting chest pain (AOR 1.25; 95% CI= 1.02-1.52), blood when brushing teeth (AOR 1.23; 95% CI= 1.02-1.49), sores or ulcers in mouth (AOR 1.36; 95% CI= 1.08-1.72), and more than one cold (AOR 1.36; 95% CI= 1.05-1.28); it was not significant for coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, or chest tightness. In the same model, for each increase in 10 CPD, there was a significantly increased odds of wheezing (AOR 1.38; 95% CI=1.12-1.69) and shortness of breath (AOR 1.24; 95% CI=1.02-1.50).
The authors concluded that “[a]mong adult cigarette smokers who are e-cigarette ever users, those with higher spending on e-cigarettes had greater risks of having chest pain, noticing blood when brushing their teeth, having sores or ulcers in their mouth, and having more than one cold compared to those with lower spending on e-cigarettes. There were no significant associations between 30-day e-cigarette use and disease symptoms” (p. 12).

Yao, T., Max, W., Sung, H. Y., Glantz, S. A., Goldberg, R. L., Wang, J. B., ... & Cataldo, J. (2017). Relationship Between Spending on Electronic Cigarettes, 30-day use, and Disease Symptoms Among Current Adult Cigarette Smokers in the US. PloS One, 12(11), e0187399.