ASPO Abstracts
E-cigarette Device Characteristic and Reasons to Use Predicting E-cigarette and Cigarette Use
Category: Behavioral Science & Health Communication
Conference Year: 2019
Abstract Body:
Background: E-cigarettes are frequently used to reduce or quit cigarette smoking, yet many dual users of these tobacco products continue long-term use or revert to cigarette smoking. Further, the heterogeneous options of e-cigarette devices could prevent users from selecting a device that would assist in smoking cessation. The purpose of this study is to determine the use behaviors and e-cigarette device characteristics of dual users one year later. Methods: Data were obtained from adults (18 years and older) who completed Waves 2 (2014-2015) and 3 (2015-2016) of a nationally representative longitudinal cohort, the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study. The final sample included 968 (representing a US population of 4,468,809) current, established dual users of cigarettes and e-cigarettes in Wave 2 who remained dual users (n=402), cigarette (n=422) or e-cigarette (n=88) users only, or quit using both products (n=56) by Wave 3. Weighted logistic regression tested associations between Wave 3 user groups and Wave 2 e-cigarette device characteristics, reasons to use e-cigarettes, and sociodemographic variables.Results: The sample was mostly white (80.2%), male (54.3%), 35-44 years old (23.3%), and had a high school education or less (45.6%). Compared to dual users across both waves, owning a device, high price paid, refilling e-cigarette with e-liquid, and changing voltage had decreased relative risk of being tobacco only users (p<0.05, all). Additionally, using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days when you could not use cigarettes had decreased relative risk of being tobacco only users (RRR=0.48, p<0.01) or quitting both products (RRR=0.45, p=0.02). Higher education was associated with Wave 3 e-cigarette only users (p<0.05, each). Dual users in Wave 2 who used e-cigarettes for reasons of acceptability, being social, flavors, less harm to themselves, affordability had decreased relative risk of being tobacco only users in Wave 3 (p<0.05, all). Conclusions: E-cigarette device characteristics can differ across long-term tobacco users, especially among dual users who transition to smoking cigarettes only. Determining which devices would help smokers quit tobacco use altogether and prevent long-term health effects would be vital in tobacco control.
Keywords: tobacco control; e-cigarette; dual users; cohort study