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Adolescents' interest in trying flavoured e-cigarettes
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  1. J K Pepper1,2,
  2. K M Ribisl1,3,
  3. N T Brewer1,3
  1. 1Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
  2. 2RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
  3. 3Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr JK Pepper, RTI International, 3040 East Cornwallis Rd., Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA; jpepper{at}rti.org

Abstract

Background More US adolescents use e-cigarettes than smoke cigarettes. Research suggests flavoured e-cigarettes appeal to youth, but little is known about perceptions of and reasons for attraction to specific flavours.

Methods A national sample of adolescents (n=1125) ages 13–17 participated in a phone survey from November 2014 to June 2015. We randomly assigned adolescents to respond to survey items about 1 of 5 e-cigarette flavours (tobacco, alcohol, menthol, candy or fruit) and used regression analysis to examine the impact of flavour on interest in trying e-cigarettes and harm beliefs.

Results Adolescents were more likely to report interest in trying an e-cigarette offered by a friend if it were flavoured like menthol (OR=4.00, 95% CI 1.46 to 10.97), candy (OR=4.53, 95% CI 1.67 to 12.31) or fruit (OR=6.49, 95% CI 2.48 to 17.01) compared with tobacco. Adolescents believed that fruit-flavoured e-cigarettes were less harmful to health than tobacco-flavoured e-cigarettes (p<0.05). Perceived harm mediated the relationship between some flavours and interest in trying e-cigarettes. A minority of adolescents believed that e-cigarettes did not have nicotine (14.6%) or did not know whether they had nicotine (3.6%); these beliefs did not vary by flavour.

Discussion Candy-flavoured, fruit-flavoured and menthol-flavoured e-cigarettes appeal to adolescents more than tobacco-flavoured or alcohol-flavoured e-cigarettes. This appeal is only partially explained by beliefs about reduced harm. Given adolescents' interest in trying e-cigarettes with certain flavours, policymakers should consider restricting advertisements promoting flavoured products in media that reach large numbers of young people. Future research should examine other reasons for the appeal of individual flavours, such as novelty and perceived luxury.

  • Electronic nicotine delivery devices
  • Non-cigarette tobacco products
  • Priority/special populations
  • Advertising and Promotion

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Footnotes

  • Contributors JKP conceptualised the experiment, developed the survey items and led the writing. NTB and KMR conceptualised the experiment, substantially contributed to survey item development, oversaw the project and provided substantial feedback on writing.

  • Funding Research reported in this publication was supported by P50CA180907 from the National Cancer Institute and the FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).

  • Disclaimer The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or the Food and Drug Administration.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Ethics approval University of North Carolina Institutional Review Board (IRB).

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.