Adolescent Susceptibility to E-Cigarettes: An Update From the 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey
Alayna P. Tackett, Brittney Keller‐Hamilton, Emily T. Hébert, Caitlin E. Smith, Samantha Wallace, Elise M. Stevens, Amanda L. Johnson, Theodore L. Wagener
Abstract
Purpose: Examine correlates of e-cigarette susceptibility among adolescents. Design: Secondary data analyses using the 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey, excluding participants under 12 and over 17. Setting: United States middle and high schools. Subjects: Never e-cigarette users ( n = 12,439) ages 12-17. Measures: Relationships between e-cigarette susceptibility and age, sex, race/ethnicity, ever tobacco use, perceived ease of purchasing tobacco products, perceived harm, relative addictiveness, household use of e-cigarettes/tobacco were examined. Analysis: Odds of susceptibility were modeled with weighted multivariable logistic regressions. Results: Thirty-five percent (unweighted n = 4,436) of adolescents were susceptible to e-cigarettes. Adolescents who were female (aOR = 1.2), Hispanic (aOR = 1.3), perceived e-cigarettes as anything less than “a lot of harm” (aOR = 2.2-4.9) and “easy” to purchase (aOR = 1.4), had ever used combustible tobacco (aOR = 2.9), or reported household use of e-cigarettes (aOR = 1.5) were susceptible. Non-Hispanic black respondents (vs. non-Hispanic white; aOR = 0.72) had significantly lower odds of susceptibility to e-cigarettes. Conclusion: In the 2018 NYTS adolescent sample, perceptions of harm and ease of tobacco product purchase appear to be significantly related to higher odds of e-cigarette susceptibility, in addition to other demographic factors. Longitudinal data, particularly cohort data following adolescents from susceptible to actual or no use, are needed to assess predictors of e-cigarette use initiation.