E-Cigarette Brand Use by Race/Ethnicity in a US Sample of Adolescent and Young Adult E-Cigarette Users, 2022–2023

Introduction:
This text is a research article that examines the use of e-cigarette brands among adolescents and young adults in the United States. The study aims to determine whether e-cigarette brand use varies according to race/ethnicity and compares frequency of use of each brand within racial and ethnic subgroups of young e-cigarette users. The article also explores the impact of federal guidance and restrictions on e-cigarette manufacturers on brand use.

Key Points:

* The study is based on a cross-sectional online tracking survey of youth and young adults aged 15 to 24 years in the United States.
* The survey is designed to monitor tobacco-related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, as well as related constructs such as media exposure and other risk factors among young people.
* The study found that JUUL and Puff Bar were the most commonly reported usual brands among Black and Hispanic e-cigarette users, to a greater extent than those who were White or another race and non-Hispanic.
* The study also found that frequency of use varied significantly according to respondents' usual brand when stratified by race/ethnicity.
* The study controlled for respondents' past 30-day use of other tobacco or nicotine products and age group in the analysis.
* The study found that EB Design demonstrated significant increases in being reported as a usual brand during the study period among every racial or ethnic group.
* The study highlights the importance of monitoring e-cigarette brand selection by race/ethnicity to inform studies of nicotine exposure, polyuse, and health disparities.

Main Message:
The study highlights the importance of monitoring e-cigarette brand use among adolescents and young adults, particularly among racial and ethnic minority groups. The study found that JUUL and Puff Bar remained the most popular e-cigarette brands among Black and Hispanic youth and young adults, despite declines in their market share. The study also found that frequency of use varied significantly according to respondents' usual brand when stratified by race/ethnicity. These findings suggest that targeted marketing by e-cigarette manufacturers may contribute to differences in e-cigarette brand selection and frequency of use by race/ethnicity. As e-cigarette brands continue to proliferate, monitoring e-cigarette brand selection by race/ethnicity can inform studies of nicotine exposure, polyuse, and health disparities. Therefore, regulatory measures should be implemented to ensure that products that have been removed from the market do not remain accessible to youth, particularly in communities with a higher proportion of non-White residents.

Jennifer M Kreslake, Adrian Bertrand, Tyler Minter, Barbara A Schillo, E-Cigarette Brand Use by Race/Ethnicity in a US Sample of Adolescent and Young Adult E-Cigarette Users, 2022–2023, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Volume 27, Issue 5, May 2025, Pages 849–855, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntae174