A resurgence of e-cigarette use among adolescents and young adults late in the COVID-19 pandemic

Kreslake, Jennifer M.; O’Connor, Katie; Liu, Mengmeng; Vallone, Donna; Hair, Elizabeth C.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0282894

Cited by 20 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Throughout there was a decline in e-cigarettes. This trend was evident in other studies, especially in a young population and at the beginning of the pandemic [66][67][68]. However, a cross-sectional study by Gallus et al reveals that the effect is probably cohort-dependent.…”

Section: Treatmentmentioning

confidence: 75%

Google Trends Assessment of Keywords Related to Smoking and Smoking Cessation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 4 European Countries: Retrospective Analysis

Jagomast,

Finck,

Tangemann-Münstedt

et al. 2024

Online J Public Health Inform

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Background: Smoking is a modifiable risk factor for Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infection. Evidence of smoking behavior during the pandemic is ambiguous. Most investigations report an increase in smoking. In this context, Google Trends data monitors realtime public information-seeking behavior and is therefore useful to characterize smoking-related interest over the trajectory of the pandemic.Objective: Google Trends data was used to evaluate the transition into the pandemic on public interest regarding smoking and cessation. Special attention was paid to the influence of lockdowns, vaccinations, and incidence. Intensification of cessation aid might be crucial in times of pandemic to improve public health. Methods:The weekly relative search volume was retrieved from Google Trends for England, Germany, Italy, and Spain during the period from 31-12-2017 to 18-4-2021. Data was collected for keywords concerning cessation, treatment, and consumption. Trend curves were generated, and the relative search volume of keywords before and during the pandemic was compared. To address short-term changes linked to lockdowns or vaccination campaigns flexible scan statistics were used to identify clusters. Subsequently, the numbers of clusters after the onset of the pandemic were compared.Results: Country-wise minor differences were observed while overarching tendencies prevailed. Overall trend curves and statistical comparison revealed a decline in interest in cessation. Also, e-cigarettes and most consumption-related keywords showed decreased relative search volume during the pandemic. Substantial clusters of increased interest were sparsely linked to lockdowns, vaccination campaigns, or incidence. Generally, fewer clusters for cessation were present during the pandemic. Conclusions:This study reports a substantial decline in overall relative search volume and clusters for cessation interest. These results underline the importance of intensifying cessation aid during times of crisis. Lockdowns, vaccination, and incidence had less impact on information-seeking behavior. Other public measures that positively affect smoking behavior remain to be determined. Clinical Trial: n.a.

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Section: Treatmentmentioning

confidence: 75%

Google Trends Assessment of Keywords Related to Smoking and Smoking Cessation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 4 European Countries: Retrospective Analysis

Jagomast,

Finck,

Tangemann-Münstedt

et al. 2024

Online J Public Health Inform

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“…e-Cigarette use among young adults is a significant public health threat. Use rates dropped early in the COVID-19 pandemic but have seen a resurgence in the later stages of this public health emergency [ 28 ]. Innovative strategies to deliver antivaping messages and reduce use intentions and behavior are needed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of a Social Media Intervention on Vaping Intentions: Randomized Dose-Response Experiment

Evans,

Bingenheimer,

Cantrell

et al. 2024

J Med Internet Res

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Background e-Cigarette use, especially by young adults, is at unacceptably high levels and represents a public health risk factor. Digital media are increasingly being used to deliver antivaping campaigns, but little is known about their effectiveness or the dose-response effects of content delivery. Objective The objectives of this study were to evaluate (1) the effectiveness of a 60-day antivaping social media intervention in changing vaping use intentions and beliefs related to the stimulus content and (2) the dose-response effects of varying levels of exposure to the intervention on vaping outcomes, including anti-industry beliefs, vaping intentions, and other attitudes and beliefs related to vaping. Methods Participants were adults aged 18 to 24 years in the United States. They were recruited into the study through Facebook (Meta Platforms) and Instagram (Meta Platforms), completed a baseline survey, and then randomized to 1 of the 5 conditions: 0 (control), 4, 8, 16, and 32 exposures over a 15-day period between each survey wave. Follow-up data were collected 30 and 60 days after randomization. We conducted stratified analyses of the full sample and in subsamples defined by the baseline vaping status (never, former, and current). Stimulus was delivered through Facebook and Instagram in four 15-second social media videos focused on anti-industry beliefs about vaping. The main outcome measures reported in this study were self-reported exposure to social media intervention content, attitudes and beliefs about vaping, and vaping intentions. We estimated a series of multivariate linear regressions in Stata 17 (StataCorp). To capture the dose-response effect, we assigned each study arm a numerical value corresponding to the number of advertisements (exposures) delivered to participants in each arm and used this number as our focal independent variable. In each model, the predictor was the treatment arm to which each participant was assigned. Results The baseline sample consisted of 1491 participants, and the final analysis sample consisted of 57.28% (854/1491) of the participants retained at the 60-day follow-up. We compared the retained participants with those lost to follow-up and found no statistically significant differences across demographic variables. We found a significant effect of the social media treatment on vaping intentions (β=−0.138, 95% CI −0.266 to −0.010; P=.04) and anti-industry beliefs (β=−0.122, 95% CI 0.008-0.237; P=.04) targeted by the intervention content among current vapers but not among the full sample or other strata. We found no significant effects of self-reported exposure to the stimulus. Conclusions Social media interventions are a promising approach to preventing vaping among young adults. More research is needed on how to optimize the dosage of such interventions and the extent to which long-term exposure may affect vaping use over time. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04867668; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04867668

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“…Most adolescents (89.4%) use flavored e-cigarettes. Although e-cigarette use declined during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, recent estimates suggest that the rates are again increasing [ 3 ] and e-cigarettes continue to remain the most commonly used tobacco product by youth [ 2 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vaping cessation support recommendations from adolescents who vape: a qualitative study

Pbert,

Dubé,

Nagawa

et al. 2024

BMC Public Health

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Background Youth vaping is a serious public health concern, being more prevalent than any other tobacco use. To inform cessation interventions, we explored what adolescents perceive as their reasons for quitting and strategies to help them quit. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 11 adolescents reporting vaping in the past 90 days and recruited from a high school in Massachusetts. Interviews were transcribed and dual-coded. Inductive thematic analysis was employed, and thematic summaries were prepared. Results Reasons adolescents reported for quitting included cost, experiencing “nic-sick” from nicotine withdrawal or excess intake, negative impacts on mood, concentration, or health, and experiencing symptoms of nicotine dependence. Nearly all tried to quit multiple times. Barriers to quitting included exposure to vaping, access to vape products, stress, and “cool” new products or flavors. Quit strategies included avoiding others vaping, seeking social support to quit, addressing peer pressure to continue vaping, learning successful quit strategies from peers, and using distraction strategies or alternatives to vaping. Conclusion Many adolescents who vape want to quit, and most have tried multiple times. Interventions need to engage adolescents with varying reasons to quit, barriers, and quit strategy preferences. Clinical trial registration This study is registered through ClinicalTrials.gov. The trial registration number is NCT05140915. The trial registration date is 11/18/2021.

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A resurgence of e-cigarette use among adolescents and young adults late in the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 20 publications

References 20 publications

Google Trends Assessment of Keywords Related to Smoking and Smoking Cessation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 4 European Countries: Retrospective Analysis

Google Trends Assessment of Keywords Related to Smoking and Smoking Cessation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 4 European Countries: Retrospective Analysis

Effects of a Social Media Intervention on Vaping Intentions: Randomized Dose-Response Experiment

Vaping cessation support recommendations from adolescents who vape: a qualitative study

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