Date of Publication
6-1-2022
Abstract
Background: Teen e-cigarette use increased between 2017 and 2019; however, youth perceived that non-cigarette tobacco products were less addictive than traditional cigarettes, when in fact many vaping devices contain more nicotine than cigarettes. Although vaping in middle and high school students has been extensively studied, data surrounding undergraduates is lacking.
Methods: The present study surveyed undergraduate students from three Vermont colleges. Of the 326 respondents, 147 reported vaping at some point in their life. The survey was created using RedCap and analysis was conducted using SPSS.
Results: The reported mean age of vaping initiation was 16.5 ± 2.1 years. Of all participants who had ever vaped (n=147), 61% reported trying to quit at some point, 25% reported never trying to quit, and 14% failed to answer the question. Of the respondents who vaped within the last 30 days (n=74), 77.1% obtained vaping products from a physical store, 20.0% from friends, 1.4% online, 1.4% from another provider not listed, and 0.0% from family. A significant association was found between a history of vaping and agreement with the statement: “it’s cool to vape on campus” (X2: (2, N= 320) = 20.968, p< 0.001).
Conclusions: Although participants commonly cited friends as a reason for initiating vaping, many denied feeling direct peer pressure to vape. Students reported being more likely to vape at school than at home. Additionally, the most common method reported of purchasing devices was through physical stores. Future research should identify effective strategies to assist youth struggling to quit and reduce underage purchasing in physical stores.
Advisor(s)
Paula Tracy, PhD
Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont
Tina Zuk
American Heart Association of Vermont
Agency
American Heart Association of Vermont
Subjects
Adolescent Health, Child and Adolescent Development, Community, Educational and Community-Based Programs, Environmental Health, Health Policy, Health-Related Quality of Life & Well-Being, Heart Disease and Stroke, Tobacco Use
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Recommended Citation
Battle, Emily C.; Early, Caitlin; Evans, Audree; Geiger-Kelsey, Stefanie; Gravel-Pucillo, Callan MMS; Hirve, Anirudh A.; Maness, Caleb P.; and Patel, Dhiraj, "A Survey of College Youth Habits Surrounding Electronic Nicotine Delivery Devices in Vermont" (2022). Public Health Projects, 2008-present. 354.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/354