Age and sex-related patterns of electronic cigarette use in the general population: Supporting a de novo substance use pattern

Abstract

INTRODUCTION This study describes the patterns of the past 30-day electronic cigarette use across sex and age groups in a representative sample of the general population. METHODS This cross-sectional study used data from the Public Use Microdata File of the Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey 2019. This study descriptively analyzed the patterns of e-cigarette use across sex and age groups, using the data of past 30-day e-cigarette users (n=500). Logistic regression was used to assess the factors associated with the past 30-day e-cigarette use, using the data of overall survey respondents (n=8600). RESULTS Dual use of e-cigarettes and conventional cigarette/ smoking (38.3%) was most common among older people. Also, more females and younger e-cigarette users were nonsmokers compared to their counterparts. More females than males (44.7% vs 39.8%) initiated e-cigarettes earlier in life. The majority of the older people (>45 years) used e-cigarettes for quitting smoking (74.1%) whereas the majority of the young people used them for enjoyment (50.2%). Tobacco was the most preferred e-cigarette flavor by older people (40.6%) and least preferred by young people (4.8%), who instead preferred fruit flavors (51.1%). Overall, being younger, perceiving e-cigarette use as less harmful than smoking, and other substance use increased the odds of past 30-day e-cigarette use. CONCLUSIONS Findings show sex and age-related variations in past 30-day e-cigarette use patterns: dual-use with smoking, non-smokers using e-cigarettes, age at initiation, and purposes and preferred flavor. Future research on reasons for this variation is warranted.