Conner, M orcid.org/0000-0002-6229-8143, Grogan, S, Simms-Ellis, R et al. (5 more authors) (2021) Association between age at first reported e-cigarette use and subsequent regular e-cigarette, ever cigarette and regular cigarette use. Addiction. ISSN 0965-2140
Abstract
Background and aims
Association of electronic cigarette use and subsequent smoking has received considerable attention, although age of first use has not. This study tested differences in regular (e-cigarettes, cigarettes) and ever (cigarettes) use between e-cigarette user groups: early versus never users, late versus never users, early versus late users and effects of controlling for covariates.
Design
Prospective study with 12- and 24-month follow-up of e-cigarette/cigarette ever/regular use with data from an intervention.
Setting
Forty-five schools in England (Staffordshire and Yorkshire).
Participants
Never smokers (3289 13–14-year-olds) who were part of a cluster randomized controlled trial.
Measurements
The sample was divided into groups of e-cigarette users: early users (at 13–14 years), late users (at 14–15 years) and never users (at 13–14 and 14–15 years). Dependent variables were self-reported regular e-cigarette and cigarette use and ever cigarette use at 15–16 years. Covariates were assessed.
Findings
Early and late users compared with never users were significantly more likely to be regular e-cigarette users [early: odds ratio (OR) = 9.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 5.38, 16.49, P < 0.001; late: OR = 6.89, 95% CI = 4.11, 11.54, P < 0.001], ever cigarette users (early: OR = 7.96, 95% CI = 6.02, 10.53, P < 0.001; late: OR = 5.13, 95% CI = 3.85, 6.84, P < 0.001) and regular cigarette users (early: OR = 7.80, 95% CI = 3.99, 15.27, P < 0.001; late: OR = 4.34, 95% CI = 1.93, 9.77, P < 0.001) at age 15–16 years. Late users compared with early users had significantly lower rates of ever use of cigarettes at 15–16 years (OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.35, 0.66, P < 0.001), although this difference was non-significant at 12 months after first use of e-cigarettes (OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.64, 1.25, P = 0.498). Controlling for covariates did not change the findings.
Conclusions
Adolescents in England who report using e-cigarettes at age 13–14 years have higher rates of subsequently initiating cigarette use than adolescents who report using e-cigarettes at age 14–15 years, a difference that may be attributable to a longer period of time to initiate cigarette use in former group.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
Keywords: | Adolescents; E-cigarettes; electronic nicotine delivery systems; harm reduction; intervention; smoking |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (Leeds) > Centre for Health Services Research (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number MRC (Medical Research Council) MR/J000264/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 18 Dec 2020 10:52 |
Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2023 22:32 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/add.15386 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:169186 |