Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, United States of America.
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2018 Aug 23;13(8):e0202744. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202744. eCollection 2018.
Flavored e-cigarettes are enticing to new users and established cigarette smokers using e-cigarettes to quit smoking due to the wide variety of flavor options. However, specific flavor combinations that are popular among e-cigarette users are understudied. Recently, the Deeming rule extended the US Food and Drug Administration's authority over all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.
The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study Wave 2 data were analyzed to assess the prevalence of self-reported flavor categories that are used individually and in combination with other flavor categories among past 30-day youth and adult e-cigarette users in the US.
Most youth and adult participants reported using a flavored e-cigarette. Reporting an individual flavor category was more common than reporting a combination of flavor categories. Fruit flavor was the most common flavor category reported among youth, and 'menthol/mint' was most common among adults. Fruit and candy/other sweets were the most common flavor categories reported together among both youth and adult past 30-day e-cigarette users.
The use of flavored e-cigarettes is very popular among youth and adults. Most consumers reported using a single flavor category, although some consumers did use a combination of flavor categories. Preference for menthol/mint among adults may represent a carryover from associations with tobacco cigarettes. Typically, sweeter flavors, such as fruit, were among the most popular flavor categories reported, both individually and in combination with other flavors, while more bitter flavors (i.e.: clove/spice) were less common.
This study identified predominant flavor categories among past 30-day youth and adult e-cigarette users. Findings indicate that the wide variety of flavors available and the freedom to "mix-and-match" flavors may maintain use of e-cigarettes among youth and adults, and future research should focus on the composition of the ENDS liquid/vapor to disentangle the contributions of sweeteners and flavorants.
由于口味选择多样，调味电子烟对新用户和使用电子烟戒烟的既有吸烟者具有吸引力。然而，电子烟用户中流行的特定口味组合还没有得到充分研究。最近，Deeming 规则扩大了美国食品和药物管理局对所有烟草产品（包括电子烟）的监管权。
利用美国“人口评估烟草与健康研究”第二波数据，评估了美国过去 30 天使用电子烟的青年人和成年人报告的个别和组合使用的电子烟口味类别的流行率。
大多数青年人和成年人报告使用了调味电子烟。报告个别口味类别比报告多种口味组合更为常见。水果味是青年群体中最常见的口味类别，而“薄荷/薄荷醇”是成年群体中最常见的口味类别。水果味和糖果/其他甜味是青年人和成年过去 30 天使用电子烟者最常报告的组合口味类别。
调味电子烟在青年人和成年人中非常受欢迎。大多数消费者报告使用单一的口味类别，尽管一些消费者确实使用了多种口味组合。成年消费者中薄荷醇/薄荷味的偏好可能是与传统卷烟的关联所带来的延续。通常情况下，水果等更甜的口味是最受欢迎的口味类别，无论是单独使用还是与其他口味组合使用，而更苦的口味（如丁香味/香料味）则不太常见。
本研究确定了过去 30 天使用电子烟的青年人和成年人中最主要的口味类别。研究结果表明，目前电子烟口味的多样性以及“混合搭配”口味的自由性可能会使青年人和成年人继续使用电子烟，未来的研究应该集中在电子烟液体/蒸汽的成分上，以厘清甜味剂和香料的作用。
