Introduction: Increasing electronic cigarette use among youth has led to a need for a novel intensity measure of e-cigarette use and its association with nicotine addiction variables.
Methods: Using a cross sectional study of the 2018-2019 PATH Wave 5 Youth survey, a new intensity metric of e-cigarette use, the average number of puffs per month as a function of frequency (days of use per month), number of uses per day and number of puffs per use, was developed for adolescent e-cigarette users. Using logistic regression, standard addiction measures were tested for association with higher quartile (Q) of e-cigarette intensity: Q1 (1-5 puffs), Q2 (6-50 puffs), Q3 (51-528 puffs), and Q4 (529+ puffs).
Results: Among 1,051 current youth e-cigarette users, cravings were associated with greater intensity of use (Q2: aOR= 1.90, 95% CI: 0.94-3.87; Q3: aOR = 6.91, 95% CI: 3.25-14.69; Q4: aOR =21.48, 95% CI 10.03-45.97). Craving associations exceeded the corresponding aORs for the identical regression using frequency of use. Higher intensity was significantly associated with being an older adolescent (aOR=1.85), best friend use (aOR: 3.35), not thinking about quitting (aOR: 2.51), and lower perceived addiction (aOR: 1.95).
Conclusions: This study found that an intensity metric (puffs per month) was strongly associated with cravings, best friend use, harm perception, and lack of intention to quit. This metric provides a more accurate picture of the intensity of youth e-cigarette use than other commonly used measures and may be important for understanding the current and future impact of the youth e-cigarette epidemic.
Implications: Adolescent addiction to e-cigarettes affects learning, memory, and attention. However, it is unknown whether intensity of use, puffs per month, differs from frequency, days of use per month, in relation to addiction measures. This study provides evidence that high intensity use characterized by puffs per month has a stronger association to cravings compared to frequency, which suggests puffs per month may be a better measure of nicotine exposure. This new intensity metric may give insights into youth e-cigarette use patterns, addiction, and appropriate treatment of intense but intermittent users.
Keywords: E-cigarettes; addiction; nicotine; pediatrics.
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