Electronic cigarette use among university students aged 18–24 years in New Zealand: results of a 2018 national cross-sectional survey

• Published in: BMJ open 2020-06, Vol.10 (6), p.e035093-e035093
• Main Authors: Wamamili, Ben, Wallace-Bell, Mark, Richardson, Ann, Grace, Randolph C, Coope, Pat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age; Cross-Sectional Studies; Electronic cigarettes; Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems; Epidemiology; Estimates; Ethnic Groups; Ethnicity; Female; Gender; Health Behavior; Humans; Male; Minority & ethnic groups; New Zealand - epidemiology; Participation; Population; Public Health; Questionnaires; Smoking; Students; Teenagers; Tobacco; Universities; University students; Vaping; Vaping - epidemiology; Vaping - ethnology; Young Adult; Young adults
• ISSN: 2044-6055; 2044-6055
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035093

ObjectivesTo examine electronic cigarette use, reasons for use and perceptions of harm among university students.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingUniversity students across New Zealand.MethodsWe analysed data from a 2018 cross-sectional survey of university students, weighted to account for undersampling and oversampling by gender and university size. χ2 tests were used to compare e-cigarette use, reasons for use and perceptions of harm by age, gender, ethnicity and cigarette smoking.ParticipantsThe sample comprised 1476 students: 62.3% aged 18–20 years, 37.7% aged 21–24 years; 38.6% male, 61.4% female; 7.9% Māori and 92.1% non-Māori.Results40.5% of respondents (95% CI 37.9 to 43.1) reported ever, 6.1% (4.9–7.4) current and 1.7% (1.1–2.5) daily use. Regardless of frequency, 11.5% of vapers had vaped daily for ≥1 month, 70.2% of whom used nicotine-containing devices; 80.8% reported not vaping in indoor and 73.8% in outdoor smoke-free spaces. Among ever vapers, curiosity (67.4%), enjoyment (14.4%) and quitting (2.4%) were common reasons for vaping. 76.1% (73.4–78.7) of respondents believed e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes.More males than females reported vaping (ever, current, daily and daily for ≥1 month), nicotine use and belief that e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes. More participants aged 18–20 years reported not vaping in outdoor smoke-free spaces, vaping out of curiosity and belief that e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes, while more participants aged 21–24 years vaped daily for ≥1 month and for enjoyment. More Māori than non-Māori ever vaped. More cigarette smokers than non-smokers vaped (ever, current, daily and daily for ≥1 month), used nicotine and vaped to quit, while more non-smokers did not vape in smoke-free spaces and vaped out of curiosity.ConclusionsOur results suggest high prevalence of e-cigarette ever and current use, particularly among males and smokers. Many vaped out of curiosity and perceived e-cigarettes as less harmful than cigarettes.