Reasons for Electronic Cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students — National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2016
Year: 2018
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) were the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. middle school and high school students in 2016 (1).CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analyzed data from the 2016 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) to assess self-reported reasons for e-cigarette use among U.S. middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) student e-cigarette users.Among students who reported ever using e-cigarettes in 2016, the most commonly selected reasons for use were 1) use by "friend or family member" (39.0%); 2) availability of "flavors such as mint, candy, fruit, or chocolate" (31.0%); and 3) the belief that "they are less harmful than other forms of tobacco such as cigarettes" (17.1%).The least commonly selected reasons were 1) "they are easier to get than other tobacco products, such as cigarettes" (4.8%); 2) "they cost less than other tobacco products such as cigarettes" (3.2%); and 3) "famous people on TV or in movies use them" (1.5%).Availability of flavors as a reason for use was more commonly selected by high school users (32.3%) than by middle school users (26.8%).Efforts to prevent middle school and high school students from initiating the use of any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, are important to reduce tobacco product use among U.S. youths (2).NYTS is a school-based, pencil-and-paper questionnaire, self-administered to a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of students in grades 6-12 in the United States (3).In 2016, 20,675 students completed the NYTS; the overall survey response rate was 71.6%.Reasons for e-cigarette use were assessed among both ever and current e-cigarette users.Ever users were defined as participants who responded "yes" to the question, "Have you ever used an electronic cigarette or e-cigarette, even once or twice?"Among ever users, current users were those who reported using e-cigarettes on ≥1 day during the past 30 days, based on responses to the question, "During the past 30 days, on how many days did you use electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes?"Current e-cigarette users were further classified into four mutually exclusive group based on tobacco products used: e-cigarettes only; e-cigarettes and combustible tobacco (e.g., cigarettes, cigars, pipes, bidis, or hookah); e-cigarettes and noncombustible tobacco (e.g., smokeless tobacco, snus, or dissolvable tobacco); and e-cigarettes with combustible and noncombustible tobacco.Data for the group
Authors: James Tsai, Kimp Walton, Blair N. Coleman, Saida R. Sharapova, Sarah E. Johnson, Sara M. Kennedy, Ralph S. Caraballo
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2789656679