Catherine Best Public Health Researcher, School of Health Sciences, University of Stirling
Professor Sally Haw Professor of Public Health, University of Stirling
Abstract
Objective: To examine the impact of individual (cigarette smoking, cigarette brand recognition, frequency of shop visits and leisure activities) and environmental (tobacco retail and e-cig outlet density) factors on the use of e-cigarettes by adolescents
Design: Cross-sectional observational study
Setting: High schools in Scotland + marketing audit of tobacco and e-cigarette retail outlets
Participants: Questionnaires were administered in schools to pupils in Secondary 2 (mean age: 13.96 years) and Secondary 4 (mean age: 15.91 years) across 4 communities in Scotland.
Main outcome measures: self-reported use of e-cigarettes and self-reported intention to try e-cigarettes in the next six months.
Results: Three quarters of respondents had heard of e-cigarettes and of these 17.3% had tried an e-cigarette. A further 6.8% reported that they intended to try an e-cigarette in the next 6 months. E-cigarette use and intention to try e-cigarettes was associated with higher cigarette brand recognition. Having never tried smoking tobacco was a strong protective factor against both. We also present novel data on the impact of retail outlet density and the marketing of e-cigarettes on youth e-cigarette use and intention to use in the future.
Conclusion: Future studies should take into account local environmental factors when exploring adolescent e-cigarette behaviour.
