School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, Canada.
Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Canada.
BMC Public Health. 2019 Sep 2;19(1):1208. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-7546-y.
E-cigarettes have grown in popularity around the world since 2003. Although marketed as a smoking cessation tool, e-cigarettes can lead to tobacco cigarette smoking in youth. In Canada, among all age groups, youth and young adults have the highest prevalence of e-cigarette use. The objective of this study was to assess the factors associated with e-cigarette use among youth and young adults in Canada, and to specifically examine the association between alcohol, marijuana and illicit drug use.
Data from the 2017 Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey were used. The sample was restricted to those aged 15-24 years (n = 10,322), and main outcome defined as 'E-cigarette use in the past 30-days'. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the association between the main outcome and substance use variables (illicit drug, marijuana and alcohol use), tobacco exposure variables, and demographic and health-related factors.
6.2% Canadians aged 15-24 reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30-days, while 23.9% reported having ever tried e-cigarettes. Twenty-three percent of the past 30-day users reported using e-cigarettes every day and 72.5% of the past 30-day users reported having nicotine in their last e-cigarette. Additionally, youth aged 15-17 were 4.95 times more likely to be e-cigarette users as compared to those aged 22-24 (OR: 4.95, 95% CI: 3.1-7.9). Moreover, e-cigarette use was significantly associated with marijuana use (OR:4.17, 95% CI: 2.6-6.7) and alcohol use (OR: 5.08, 95% CI: 2.9-9.0), and approached significance with illicit drug use (OR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.0-2.9). Furthermore, being a current smoker (OR: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.8-4.7) and male (OR: 2.28, 95% CI: 1.5-3.4) was significantly associated with the outcome.
This study is nationally representative and provides insight into e-cigarette use among youth and young adults aged 15-24 years. Given that e-cigarettes can be used as illicit drug delivery systems, more studies are needed to understand how Canadian youth and young adults are using e-cigarettes. Stricter restrictions on public e-cigarette smoking, and awareness campaigns informing youth of risks of e-cigarette smoking should be implemented.
自 2003 年以来，电子烟在全球范围内越来越受欢迎。尽管电子烟被宣传为戒烟工具，但它会导致青少年开始吸食香烟。在加拿大，所有年龄段中，青少年和年轻人的电子烟使用率最高。本研究的目的是评估与加拿大青少年和年轻人使用电子烟相关的因素，并特别研究酒精、大麻和非法药物使用之间的关联。
使用 2017 年加拿大烟草、酒精和毒品调查的数据。样本仅限于 15-24 岁的人群（n=10322），主要结局定义为“过去 30 天内使用电子烟”。采用多变量逻辑回归评估主要结局与物质使用变量（非法药物、大麻和酒精使用）、烟草暴露变量以及人口统计学和健康相关因素之间的关联。
6.2%的 15-24 岁加拿大青少年报告在过去 30 天内使用过电子烟，而 23.9%的青少年报告曾经尝试过电子烟。23%的过去 30 天使用者报告每天使用电子烟，72.5%的过去 30 天使用者报告在最后一支电子烟中含有尼古丁。此外，15-17 岁的青少年成为电子烟使用者的可能性是 22-24 岁青少年的 4.95 倍（OR：4.95，95%CI：3.1-7.9）。此外，电子烟的使用与大麻的使用显著相关（OR：4.17，95%CI：2.6-6.7）和酒精的使用（OR：5.08，95%CI：2.9-9.0），与非法药物的使用也接近显著（OR：1.68，95%CI：1.0-2.9）。此外，目前吸烟（OR：2.93，95%CI：1.8-4.7）和男性（OR：2.28，95%CI：1.5-3.4）与该结果显著相关。
本研究具有全国代表性，为了解 15-24 岁青少年和年轻人使用电子烟的情况提供了深入的见解。鉴于电子烟可用作非法药物的输送系统，需要开展更多研究以了解加拿大青少年和年轻人使用电子烟的情况。应实施更严格的公共场所电子烟吸烟限制和宣传活动，使青少年了解电子烟吸烟的风险。
