E-cigarette use common among young adults

Electronic cigarette use remains common among U.S. adults, with highest prevalence among those aged 18 to 24 years, according to a study published online Nov. 3 in JAMA Network Open.

John Erhabor, M.D., from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues used data from 414,755 participants in the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey to understand patterns of e-cigarette use following the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The researchers found that the age-standardized prevalence of current e-cigarette use was 6.9%, with almost half of e-cigarette users using them daily (3.2%). There was a consistently higher prevalence of e-cigarette use among individuals aged 18 to 24 years, with more than 18.6% reporting current use and more than 9.0% reporting daily use.

Of individuals reporting current e-cigarette use, 42.2% indicated former combustible cigarette use, 37.1% indicated current combustible cigarette use, and 20.7% indicated never using combustible cigarettes. Younger adults (aged 18 to 24 years) were more likely to report never using combustible cigarettes.

"These findings suggest that e-cigarette use remained common during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among young adults aged 18 to 24 years," the authors write.