Patterns of sustained e-cigarette use in a sample of young adults

E-cigarette use and devices are rapidly changing, yet there is not much scientific evidence examining these changes over time. The purpose of this study is to describe patterns of e-cigarette use in a sample of sustained (i.e., reporting past 30-day e-cigarette use at every wave) e-cigarette users over a two-year period.

Data are drawn from five waves of the Project M-PACT cohort. Analyses are limited to those reporting past 30-day e-cigarette use at each wave (n = 75). Mixed effects regressions were conducted for the following dependent variables: device type, number of days used, combustible tobacco product use, and symptoms of nicotine dependence. Each model used survey wave as the time variable, and controlled for sociodemographic variables.

Among sustained users, the majority reported using a rechargeable device. The average number of days used was about 2 for disposable devices and 14 for rechargeable devices (p < .0001). The odds of combustible tobacco product use decreased over time (AOR = 0.71; 95% CI 0.57-0.89), while symptoms of e-cigarette nicotine dependence increased over time (β = 0.07 SE = 0.03, p-value = .02). For both e-cigarette device types, there were no changes in device type or number of days used over time.

This is one of the first studies to look at changes in e-cigarette use, including symptoms of dependence and number of days used over a two-year period. This brief report extends the current literature by examining more than the prevalence and frequency of e-cigarette use.