Importance: e-Cigarette use and vaping marijuana (cannabis) are popular among US adolescents. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a compound found in the cannabis plant that has recently increased in use.
Objectives: To examine the prevalence of and factors associated with youths vaping CBD.
Design, setting, and participants: This cross-sectional study included a nationally representative sample of students from middle and high schools (typical age, 11-18 years) in the US from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey, conducted from January to May 2022.
Exposure: Demographic characteristics, harm perception of tobacco use, and vaping behaviors.
Main outcomes and measures: The main outcomes were weighted prevalence and population estimates of ever and current (past 30-day) vaping of CBD overall and by e-cigarette use status. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the association of currently vaping CBD with demographic factors and e-cigarette and tobacco use behaviors stratified by current e-cigarette use status.
Results: The study included 28 291 participants (51.1% male; mean [SD] age, 14.5 [2.0] years). Among 2448 current e-cigarette users, 21.3% (95% CI, 18.4%-24.1%) reported any past-month vaping of CBD and 6.3% (95% CI, 4.7%-7.8%) reported that they did not know whether they had vaped CBD. Hispanic e-cigarette users were more likely than their non-Hispanic White peers to report currently vaping CBD (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.9; 95% CI, 1.3-2.8). Current e-cigarette users with higher frequency (≥20 days vs ≤5 days) and longer duration (2-3 years or >3 years vs <1 year) of use were more likely to report currently vaping CBD (frequency: AOR, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.1-1.9]; 2-3 years: AOR, 2.2 [95% CI, 1.2-3.9]; 3 years: AOR, 3.2 [95% CI, 1.7-6.1]). Among 25 091 noncurrent e-cigarette users, 1.2% (95% CI, 1.0%-1.5%) reported currently vaping CBD and 2.3% (95% CI, 2.1%-2.6%) reported that they did not know. High school students (vs middle school students; AOR, 4.2; 95% CI, 2.8-6.1) and gay or lesbian (AOR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.6-5.4) or bisexual (AOR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.8-4.0) (vs heterosexual) youths were more likely to report vaping CBD, while those who perceived tobacco as dangerous (vs not dangerous; AOR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.3-0.6) had lower odds of reporting vaping CBD.
Conclusions and relevance: In this cross-sectional study of US middle and high school students, the prevalence of youths vaping CBD was high, particularly among e-cigarette users and Hispanic and sexual minority populations. The findings suggest that evidence-based educational campaigns, interventions, and public policy changes are needed to reduce the harmful health outcomes possible with vaping CBD among developing youths.