Sociodemographic Differences in Reasons for ENDS Use among US Youth within Wave 2 of the PATH study

The most prevalent reported reason for ENDS use was "it comes in flavors I like" with 77.90% (95% CI: 73.07 - 82.07). The second and third most prevalent reasons for ENDS use were "they might be less harmful to me than cigarettes" with 75.01% (95% CI: 70.09 - 79.37) and "they might be less harmful to people around me" with 74.08% (95% CI: 68.61 - 78.90). The fourth most prevalent reported reason for ENDS use was "it helps people to quit smoking" with 63.48% (95% CI: 57.22 - 69.32). The least prevalent reported reason for ENDS use was "the advertising appeals to me" with 14.18% (95% CI: 10.63 - 18.66). In bivariate analysis, females reported significantly more than males "it comes in flavors I like" (82.93% vs 74.0%, p<0.05), "people who are important to me use them" (43.28% vs 28.24%, p<0.01), and "it feels like smoking a regular cigarette" (31.3% vs 20.49%, p<0.05).
In the logistic regression analysis, females were significantly more likely than males to report the reasons "people who are important to me use them" (AOR = 1.895; 95% CI: 1.128-3.184) and "it feels like smoking a regular cigarette" (AOR = 1.761; 95% CI: 1.060-2.927). Females were significantly less likely to report "they are affordable" than males (AOR = 0.538; 95% CI: 0.296-0.976). Those identifying as non-Hispanic other races were significantly more likely to report "they are affordable" than non-Hispanic whites (AOR = 2.684; 95% CI: 1.044 - 6.899). Non-Hispanic blacks were significantly more likely to report "it feels like smoking a regular cigarette" than non-Hispanic whites (AOR = 2.740; 95% CI: 1.000 - 7.513). Those who used a flavored e-cigarette were more likely to report the reasons (compared to those that did not use a flavored e-cigarette) "it comes in flavors I like" (AOR = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.153-4.585), "they might be less harmful to people around me" (AOR = 1.97;, 95% CI: 1.082-3.605), "I like socializing while using them" (AOR = 2.221; 95% CI: 1.280-3.853) and "people who are important to me use them" (AOR = 3.005; 95% CI: 1.532-5.892). Those who used combustible tobacco at Wave 2 were more likely to report the reasons (compared to those that did not use combustible tobacco at Wave 2) "they can be used in places where smoking can't" (AOR = 2.340; 95% CI: 1.431-3.828), "they don't smell" (AOR = 1.740; 95% CI: 1.117-2.711), "it feels like smoking a regular cigarette" (AOR = 3.810; 95% CI: 2.079-6.979) and "the advertising appeals to me" (AOR = 2.589; 95% CI: 1.301-5.151).

Xiao, C., Heley, K., Kennedy, R. D., Lagasse, L., & Moran, M. B. (2019). Sociodemographic Differences in Reasons for ENDS Use among US Youth within Wave 2 of the PATH study. Tobacco Induced Diseases, 17.