Work

Loneliness and E-cigarette Use Among Adolescents in England: Evidence From the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Survey 2023

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: Adolescent e-cigarette use is an increasing public health concern in England, yet the psychosocial drivers of this trend remain poorly understood. This study examines the association between loneliness and current e-cigarette use among secondary school students aged 11-15. METHODS: We analysed data from 13 725 pupils who participated in the 2023 wave of the nationally representative Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England survey. Loneliness was assessed using a validated composite score derived from 3 indirect questions on social isolation, categorised as low, medium, and high. Current e-cigarette use was defined as self-reported use "sometimes" or "every week." Logistic regression models estimated crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for the association between loneliness and vaping, adjusting for age, gender, current smoking, ethnicity, family affluence, and alcohol use. RESULTS: Overall, 8.0% of adolescents (n=1104) reported current e-cigarette use. Compared with those reporting low loneliness, adolescents with medium and high loneliness had significantly greater odds of vaping, with adjusted ORs of 1.48 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24 to 1.76; p<0.001) and 2.46 (95% CI, 2.00 to 3.04; p<0.001), respectively. Findings were consistent in sensitivity analyses using weekly e-cigarette use as the outcome. Adolescents with medium and high loneliness had significantly higher adjusted odds of weekly use (adjusted ORs, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.75; p=0.005; and 2.04; 95% CI, 1.55 to 2.71; p<0.001, respectively) compared with those reporting low loneliness. CONCLUSIONS: Loneliness is a strong and graded correlate of adolescent e-cigarette use.

Source: Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health

DOI: 10.3961/jpmph.25.476

Authors: Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, Najim Z. Alshahrani, Isaac Olushola Ogunkola

Institutions: University of Glasgow, University of Jeddah, University of Oxford

Language: English

Topic: Smoking Behavior and Cessation

Subfield: Physiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $214