Flavored E-cigarette Use and Cigarette Smoking Susceptibility among Youth

OBJECTIVES: Research indicates youth e-cigarette use may lead to the use of conventional cigarettes, but the specific effects of flavored e-cigarettes-which greatly appeal to youth-are unknown. Therefore, this study examines how flavored e-cigarette use predicts cigarette smoking susceptibility among youth non-smokers. METHODS: We used 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey to explore the relationship between current e-cigarette use (non-use, flavored and plain e-cigarette use) and smoking susceptibility among 18,392 youth non-smokers (ages 11-18 years). RESULTS: < .0001). The magnitude of the relationship between flavored e-cigarette use and smoking susceptibility was significantly higher for females (AOR=6.5, p< .01) than males (AOR=2.5, p< .01). CONCLUSIONS: Flavored more so than plain e-cigarette use is strongly associated with smoking susceptibility among non-smoking youth. Flavored e-cigarettes are recruiting females and those with low smoking-risk profile to experiment conventional cigarettes. Legislative efforts to ban e-cigarettes with child-friendly flavors should be enhanced.