Objective: This study examined the relationship between use patterns of a popular e-cigarette brand using nicotine salts, JUUL, and symptoms of nicotine dependence in a college cohort.
Participants: Data for this study came from a prospective cohort of undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university from 2018 to 2019.
Methods: Among participants who had ever tried a JUUL (N = 411), univariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to test the associations between use frequency (past 30-day use) and quantity (time to finish a pod) and nicotine dependence at follow up.
Results: In the multivariable models, both frequency of use and quantity of use were associated with subsequent nicotine dependence, based on most indicators of dependence.
Conclusions: As salt-based nicotine is now present in the most popular e-cigarette brands used by young people, such findings inform our contemporary understanding of e-cigarettes' addictive potential and can help inform campus-based interventions.
Keywords: e-Cigarettes; nicotine dependence; nicotine salt; young adults.