Otago School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2024 Sep 23;26(10):1370-1376. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntae096.
Despite policies setting a minimum legal sales age, youth continue to access electronic cigarettes (ECs). Evidence of rising youth vaping prevalence in many countries suggests existing measures have serious loopholes and raise important questions about how youth source vaping products.
We explored how youth source ECs using in-depth interviews with 30 adolescents aged 16-17 who vaped at least once a month and lived in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our semistructured interview guide probed participants' vaping experiences and how they developed and used social, quasi-commercial, and commercial supply routes to access ECs. We used an inductive reflexive thematic analysis approach to interpret the data.
Nearly all participants shared ECs with peers and sharing was the sole access route for some. Many used proxies, often older relatives or people they knew socially, to purchase ECs on their behalf; however, others recruited proxies by approaching previously unknown people they identified on social media. Participants also sourced ECs via quasi-commercial networks that existed within schools and on social media, and some purchased in their own right, usually from smaller retail outlets that did not ask for ID.
Disrupting social supply will be challenging, though reducing ECs' availability, appeal, and affordability could make social supply, including sharing and proxy purchasing, more difficult. Reports that youth purchase ECs from commercial retailers known to waive age verification suggest stronger monitoring and enforcement, along with escalating retailer penalties, are required.
Vaping access routes sit on a continuum from informal, spontaneous sharing to carefully planned commercial purchases. While supply via friends, siblings and other social contacts is an important means of access, nicotine dependence drives some to use riskier access routes, including approaching unknown people to act as proxy purchasers. Evidence young people identify noncompliant retailers suggests policy makers should monitor and enforce existing measures more stringently and consider additional penalties for recidivist underage suppliers. A more comprehensive response that reduces the appeal, addictiveness, affordability, and availability of vaping products would address factors fostering and maintaining youth vaping.
尽管政策规定了最低法定销售年龄，但青少年仍在继续购买电子烟。许多国家青少年吸电子烟比例上升的证据表明，现有的措施存在严重的漏洞，并对青少年如何获取电子烟产品提出了重要问题。
我们通过对 30 名年龄在 16-17 岁之间、每月至少吸一次电子烟且居住在新西兰的青少年进行深入访谈，探讨了青少年获取电子烟的方式。我们的半结构化访谈指南探讨了参与者的吸电子烟经历，以及他们如何开发和利用社交、准商业和商业供应途径来获取电子烟。我们使用归纳式反思性主题分析方法来解释数据。
几乎所有参与者都与同龄人分享电子烟，而对于一些人来说，分享是唯一的获取途径。许多人通过代理，通常是年长的亲戚或他们在社交场合认识的人，代表他们购买电子烟；然而，其他人则通过接近他们在社交媒体上识别的以前不认识的人来招募代理。参与者还通过存在于学校和社交媒体上的准商业网络获取电子烟，一些人则自己购买电子烟，通常是从小型零售商那里购买，这些零售商不需要身份证。
扰乱社交供应将具有挑战性，尽管减少电子烟的可得性、吸引力和可负担性可能会使社交供应，包括分享和代理购买，变得更加困难。有报道称，青少年从已知不核实年龄的商业零售商处购买电子烟，这表明需要加强监测和执法力度，并对违规零售商加重处罚。
电子烟的获取途径处于从非正式、自发分享到精心计划的商业购买的连续体中。虽然通过朋友、兄弟姐妹和其他社会联系人获得供应是一种重要的途径，但尼古丁依赖促使一些人使用风险更高的获取途径，包括接近不认识的人充当代理购买者。年轻人发现不合规零售商的证据表明，政策制定者应更严格地监测和执行现有措施，并考虑对屡犯未成年供应商增加额外处罚。更全面的应对措施可以降低电子烟产品的吸引力、成瘾性、可负担性和可得性，从而解决促进和维持青少年吸电子烟的因素。
