Clinical Edge

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E-cigarette Use & “Dripping” Among High School Youth

Pediatrics; 2017 Mar; Krishnan-Sarin, et al

Publish date:

Greater than 1 in 4 high school students who have used e-cigarettes report having used these e-cigarettes for “dripping”, in order to produce thicker clouds of vapor, get a stronger throat hit, and make flavors taste better a recent study found. Anonymous surveys were completed in the spring of 2015 by 7,045 students from 8 Connecticut high schools that examined tobacco use behaviors and perceptions. Prevalence rates of ever using e-cigarettes for dripping and reasons for dripping behaviors were assessed among those who reported ever use of e-cigarettes. Researchers found:

  • Among 1,080 ever e-cigarette users, 26.1% of students reported ever using e-cigarettes for dripping.
  • Reasons for dripping included producing thicker clouds of vapor (63.5%), made flavors taste better (38.7%), produced a stronger throat hit (27.7%), and curiosity (21.6%).
  • Male adolescents, whites, and those who had tried multiple tobacco products had greater past-month e-cigarette use frequency and were more likely to use dripping.

Citation:

Krishnan-Sarin S, Morean M, Kong G, et al. E-cigarettes and “dripping” among high-school youth. Pediatrics. 2017;139(3):e20163224. doi:10.1542/peds.2016-3224.

Commentary:

E-cigarette use among teens and young adults has exploded over the last 5 years, having gone from negligible in 2010, to almost 25% of high-school students having tried e-cigarettes by 2015.1,2 Many e-cigarettes allow the user to take the device apart and vaporize the liquid by dripping the liquid directly onto the high temperature electronic coil, after which the vapor can then be inhaled. When the e-cigarette liquids are vaporized at this high temperature they produce high amounts of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acetone.3 In addition, the high temperature vapors may also have a higher concentration of nicotine than the inhaled vapor of the usual e-cigarette. E-cigarette use has increased rapidly, as have offshoots of the habit, all of which present important health risks to teens and young adults. —Neil Skolnik, MD

  1. Singh T, Arrazola RA, Corey CG, et al. Tobacco use among middle and high school students—United States, 2011–2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016;65(14):361–367. 

  2. Krishnan-Sarin S, Morean ME, Camenga DR, Cavallo DA, Kong G. E-cigarette use among high school and middle school adolescents in Connecticut. Nicotine Tob Res. 2015;17(7):810–818. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntu243.
  3. Kosmider L, Sobczak A, Fik M, et al. Carbonyl compounds in electronic cigarette vapors: effects of nicotine solvent and battery output voltage. Nicotine Tob Res. 2014;16(10):1319–1326. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntu078.

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