Young people's e-cigarette risk perceptions, policy attitudes, and past-month nicotine vaping in 30 U.S. cities

Abstract

Background: This study examined young people's e-cigarette risk perceptions, policy attitudes, and past-month nicotine vaping in 30 US cities in relation to city e-cigarette retail policy.

Methods: Participants ages 13-20 were recruited online September-November 2020 (N = 900, approximately 30 per city). Cities (median population = 688,531) were in 23 states. Ever e-cigarette users were oversampled. A multilevel generalized estimating equations (GEE) model compared past-month nicotine vaping as a function of local e-cigarette retail policy. Among ever-users, multilevel bivariate GEE models examined associations of participant characteristics with past-month vaping (yes/no) and, among past-month nicotine vapers, purchase of vaping products at a retail location (yes/no).

Results: The sample (age M = 17.7 [SD = 1.8]) was 60.2% female and 29.3% Black. Minimal city-level variation was observed in e-cigarette risk perceptions or policy attitudes (ICCs < 0.001). Nearly half the sample (44.6%) reported ever e-cigarette use; 11.8% reported past-month nicotine vaping. Past-month nicotine vaping was associated with older age, being non-Hispanic white, living with someone who vapes, having friends who vape, greater exposure to retail e-cigarette ads, lower e-cigarette risk perceptions, and lower perceived efficacy of flavored tobacco policy. Among ever-users, past-month nicotine vaping was not significantly associated with city e-cigarette flavor policy (p = .784). Most participants reporting past-month nicotine vaping purchased products in-store (58.5%).

Conclusions: Among young people surveyed in US cities, e-cigarette risk perceptions and policy attitudes showed minimal between-city variation. Past-month vaping among ever-users did not differ significantly by local flavor policies. A majority of past-month users, regardless of city policies, reported underage access to flavored products in retail locations.

Keywords: E-cigarette; Flavored tobacco; Tobacco retail policy; Vaping; Youth.