Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2024 Jul 1;260:111325. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.111325. Epub 2024 May 11.
E-cigarette flavors that produce cooling sensations may reduce nicotine harshness and enhance appeal among youth. While previous research has shown that use of cooling flavors is associated with more frequent vaping among youth, it is unknown whether the same holds true for e-cigarette dependence. This study examines the relationship between cooling flavor use and e-cigarette dependence among youth accounting for vaping frequency.
In Fall 2022, a survey was conducted among Connecticut high school students to assess past-month nicotine e-cigarette use, ever use of cooling flavors, cooling flavor types (e.g., fruit-cooling), and e-cigarette dependence. Analyses were restricted to those with past-month nicotine and nicotine-free e-cigarette use and complete data (n=204). Multivariable linear regressions were run to examine the association between cooling flavor use and e-cigarette dependence, adjusting for demographics, e-cigarette use characteristics, and other tobacco product use.
78.4% of the sample used cooling e-cigarette flavors, with 55.0% using mint-cooling flavors and 52.5% using fruit-cooling flavors. Regression results observed that cooling flavor use was associated with higher e-cigarette dependence (ꞵ=1.53, SE=0.63, p=0.017), with those who used cooling flavors having higher e-cigarette dependence than those who did not (M=5.78 [SD=5.33] vs. 2.84 [3.19]).
Our results suggest that cooling flavor use is significantly associated with e-cigarette dependence among youth. While regulations often target menthol flavor, tobacco control agencies should consider restricting any flavor that can produce cooling sensations, even if they are not traditional menthol products, as cooling flavors is associated with youth e-cigarette dependence.
产生清凉感的电子烟口味可能会降低尼古丁的刺激性，提高青少年对电子烟的吸引力。虽然之前的研究表明，使用清凉口味与青少年更频繁地吸食电子烟有关，但电子烟依赖是否也是如此尚不清楚。本研究通过考虑电子烟使用频率，调查了冷却风味的使用与青少年电子烟依赖之间的关系。
2022 年秋季，对康涅狄格州高中生进行了一项调查，以评估过去一个月尼古丁电子烟的使用情况、是否使用过清凉口味、清凉口味类型（如水果清凉口味）以及电子烟依赖情况。分析仅限于过去一个月使用过尼古丁和非尼古丁电子烟且数据完整的人群（n=204）。使用多变量线性回归来检验冷却风味使用与电子烟依赖之间的关系，调整了人口统计学、电子烟使用特征和其他烟草制品使用情况。
78.4%的样本使用了清凉电子烟口味，其中 55.0%使用薄荷清凉口味，52.5%使用水果清凉口味。回归结果表明，使用清凉口味与电子烟依赖程度较高有关（ꞵ=1.53，SE=0.63，p=0.017），使用清凉口味的人比不使用清凉口味的人电子烟依赖程度更高（M=5.78 [SD=5.33] vs. 2.84 [3.19]）。
我们的研究结果表明，冷却风味的使用与青少年电子烟依赖显著相关。虽然法规通常针对薄荷醇口味，但烟草控制机构应考虑限制任何能产生清凉感的口味，即使它们不是传统的薄荷醇产品，因为清凉口味与青少年电子烟依赖有关。
