Electronic Cigarette : Survey of Middle School Students in Casablanca, Morocco

Electronic cigarette is a recent device. Initially designed as a substitute for smoking cessation, it’s often presented to young adolescents as less harmful alternative to conventional cigarettes. The main objective of our study is to describe and analyze the perception of adolescents and their visions concerning e-cigarette. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study launched from September 2021 to March 2022. We targeted the age group ranging from 13 to 16 years old in two schools using an anonymous questionnaire distributed in classes. 450 questionnaires were collected and 422 were retained. The average age of adolescents was 14.07 years with a standard deviation of 0.734 years. The male gender represented 49.3%. The rate of tobacco smokers was 3.1% (IC 95%, 1.8−5.2). E-cigarette was known among the majority of middle school students in 78% (CI 95%, 73.8−81.7) and experienced by 14.45% of participants (CI 95%, 11.4−18.1). Circumstances for trying vaping were dominated by “the lure of novelty/curiosity” (48%) and the desire to “be part of the smoking group/feel adult” (25%). 31% of middle school students believed that the e-cigarette was less harmful. Concerning smoking cessation using e-cigarettes more than half of middle school students (54%) had no idea on this subject due to lack of available information and 20% felt that vaping was a good way to quit smoking. The perception of e-cigarettes among young adolescents seems to be linked to its use. Preventive measures should be implemented to make them aware of its danger especially and of tobacco products in general.