Teen use of disposable e-cigarettes linked to persistent use patterns

Among adolescents and young adults (AYAs), the use of disposable electronic cigarette devices is associated with increased risks for persistent e-cigarette use patterns, according to a study published online on March 11 in Pediatrics.

Dae-Hee Han, Ph.D., from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, and colleagues conducted a prospective longitudinal study combining data from AYA cohorts from Southern California to examine whether use of disposable e-cigarettes is associated with future e-cigarette use patterns. A total of 403 AYAs (124 adolescents and 279 young adults) who used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days at baseline and who had exposure and outcome data were included.

The researchers found that 69.0 percent of the pooled sample of AYAs who used e-cigarettes at baseline reported past 30-day disposable e-cigarette use and 31.0 percent used nondisposable cigarettes only. Compared with use of only nondisposable devices, baseline use of disposable devices was associated with increased odds of continued e-cigarette use (adjusted odds ratio, 1.92) and a greater number of times that e-cigarettes were used per day at follow-up (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 1.29).

Disposable e-cigarette use was associated with greater odds of no change versus reduction in e-cigarette frequency and puffs per episode from baseline to follow-up in supplemental analyses, but no association was seen with increases in use frequency and intensity.

"Our findings suggest that policies comprehensively regulating the spectrum of nicotine products used by young people, including disposable e-cigarettes, merit consideration in efforts to deter persistent patterns of AYA nicotine use," the authors write.

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