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- Published on: 22 June 2018
- Published on: 22 June 2018E-cigarettes & sociodemographic considerations
NOT PEER REVIEWED The authors point out that rates of adolescent ever use of e-cigarettes are substantial and increasing, but rates of regular use remain low. Yet it is also worth placing these rates of adolescent use in the context of other groups of e-cigarette users. In particular, a recent systematic review colleagues and I published into sociodemographic differences in e-cigarette use gives further salience to Conner et al’s findings. Although the availability of UK evidence for our review was limited, some very clear patterns emerged internationally. For instance, within the 38 studies reporting ever use and the 22 reporting current use, these outcomes were particularly prevalent in older adolescents and younger adults (versus younger children and older adults respectively). This therefore lends further weight to Conner et al’s recommendations around regulating the marketing and sale of e-cigarettes to minors in countries which lack sufficient legislation in this area. Both papers also show the importance of future studies stratifying findings by sociodemographic variables such as age to ensure more subgroup analyses are possible.
1) Hartwell G, Thomas S, Egan M, et al E-cigarettes and equity: a systematic review of differences in awareness and use between sociodemographic groups Tobacco Control Published Online First: 21 December 2016. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2016-053222
Conflict of Interest:
None declared.