E-Cigarette Use Among Florida Youth With and Without Asthma

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Health
• Respiratory Health

Background:

• Youth e-cigarette use (vaping) has surged, yet data on adolescents with asthma remain limited.
• Understanding vaping patterns among youth with asthma, considering geographic factors, is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of e-cigarette use among Florida high school students with and without asthma.
• To investigate the association between e-cigarette use, smoking susceptibility, and asthma attacks in this population.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2012 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey (N=36,085 high school students).
• Collected information on demographics, asthma status, e-cigarette use (ever and past 30-day), smoking susceptibility, and recent asthma attacks.
• Employed weighted analyses to ensure representativeness of Florida high school students.

Main Results:

• Students with asthma reported higher e-cigarette use (10.4% ever, 5.3% past 30-day) compared to those without (7.2% ever, 2.5% past 30-day).
• Among students with asthma, vaping was more prevalent in non-metropolitan/rural areas than metropolitan ones.
• E-cigarette use correlated with smoking susceptibility in asthmatic adolescents and past 30-day use was linked to asthma attacks.

Conclusions:

• E-cigarette use is significantly more common among Florida high school students with asthma.
• Vaping in this group is associated with increased susceptibility to cigarette smoking.
• Findings highlight the need for asthma-specific vaping prevention and cessation programs.