College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA.
Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Sep 15;20(18):6766. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20186766.
Despite efforts to dissuade major manufacturers and retailers from marketing and selling vape products to adolescents, the practice of vaping continues to increase in this population. Few studies have assessed adolescent perceptions of vaping, access to vaping, and use of vaping, and most rely, at least in part, on inferential conclusions drawn from data on smoking traditional combustible cigarettes. A novel electronic survey was created to assess the use of vapes, perceptions of vaping, and access to vaping among a convenience sample of adolescents (ages 12-20 years) in eleven schools in South-Central Texas from May to August 2021. The students' perceived threat of negative health outcomes due to vaping was calculated based on questions soliciting perceptions of severity (perceived danger) and susceptibility (perceived likelihood of illness). Trends were identified using descriptive and bivariate statistical tests. A total of 267 respondents were included; 26% had tried vaping. A majority (63%) did not believe vaping and smoking were synonymous. Most (70%) thought it was easy to obtain supplies and (76%) vape before and after (88%) or even during (64%) school. Respondents who vaped had a 34% lower perceived threat when compared to respondents who did not vape. In this sample of adolescents from South-Central Texas, one in four reported that they had tried vaping. Easy access to vapes and misperceptions regarding the safety of vaping might create a false sense of security with respect to vaping as an alternative to smoking, particularly among those who reported vaping, and is likely contributing to the increased use of vapes.
尽管已经做出了种种努力,试图劝阻各大制造商和零售商向青少年推销和销售电子烟产品,但青少年群体中使用电子烟的现象仍在持续增加。很少有研究评估过青少年对电子烟的看法、获取电子烟的途径和使用电子烟的情况,而且大多数研究至少部分依赖于从传统可燃香烟吸烟数据中推断得出的结论。本研究创建了一种新的电子调查,以评估德克萨斯州中南部 11 所学校中便利抽样的青少年(12-20 岁)使用电子烟、对电子烟的看法和获取电子烟的途径。学生们因使用电子烟而对负面健康后果的感知威胁是基于对严重性(感知危险)和易感性(感知患病可能性)的看法来计算的。采用描述性和双变量统计检验来确定趋势。共纳入 267 名受访者,其中 26%的人尝试过电子烟。大多数(63%)人不认为电子烟和香烟是同义词。大多数人(70%)认为获得电子烟供应很容易,76%的人在上学前和放学后(88%)甚至在上课时(64%)都吸电子烟。与不吸电子烟的受访者相比,吸电子烟的受访者对电子烟的感知威胁降低了 34%。在来自德克萨斯州中南部的这组青少年中,有四分之一的人报告说他们尝试过电子烟。电子烟的易得性和对电子烟安全性的误解可能会让人对电子烟作为吸烟替代品产生一种虚假的安全感,尤其是那些报告吸电子烟的人,这可能是电子烟使用增加的原因之一。