Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions
Prevalence of Adolescent E-Cigarette and Tobacco Use
Pediatrics; ePub 2016 Jul 11; Barrington-Trimis, et al
Despite the decline of smoking prevalence among Southern California adolescents over 2 decades, there remained a high prevalence of combined e-cigarette or cigarette use in 2014 compared with historical Southern California smoking prevalence, according to a recent study. The Children’s Health Study is a longitudinal study of cohorts reaching 12th grade in 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004, and 2014 and analyses used data from grades 11 and 12 of each cohort (n=5,490). Researchers found:
• The combined adjusted prevalence of current cigarette or e-cigarette use in 2014 was 13.7% among 12th-grade students.
• This was substantially greater than the 9.0% adjusted prevalence of current cigarette use in 2004 (before e-cigarettes were available), and only slightly less than the 14.7% adjusted prevalence of smoking in 2001.
• Similar patterns were observed for prevalence rates in 11th grade, for rates of ever use, and among both males and females adolescents.
The authors concluded that the use of e-cigarettes are not merely substituting for cigarettes among the study group, but indicated that e-cigarette use is occurring in adolescents who would not otherwise have used tobacco products.
Barrington-Trimis JL, Urman R, Leventhal AM, et al. E-cigarettes, cigarettes, and the prevalence of adolescent tobacco use. [Published online ahead of print July 11, 2016]. Pediatrics. doi:10.1542/peds.2015-3983.
E-cigarettes were introduced in 2007, and since their introduction adolescent use has increased incredibly quickly from a current use rate of 1% in 2011 to a current use rate of 16% in 2015.1 In fact, in many states e-cigarette use is greater among adolescents than regular cigarette use. This study shows that e-cigarettes are being used both by those who would otherwise choose to smoke as well as by those who might not smoke. It is important to understand and communicate to patients that e-cigarettes are not safe and are simply another delivery mechanism for nicotine. —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.