Prevalence and factors associated with e-cigarette use among undergraduate students: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: The use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has increased in Brazil. Objective: To assess the prevalence of e-cigarette use and the factors associated with its use among college students. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study, carried out with undergraduate students from two private colleges. The prevalence of the consumption of e-cigarettes, conventional cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana was evaluated. The motivations for initiating e-cigarette use and the respondents' perceptions about their use were also reported. Results: 518 undergraduate students were evaluated, with a mean age of 23±5.7 years, 64.09% were female and 60.42% were medical students. The prevalence of e-cigarette use was 24.32%, and the highest consumption occurred in medical school. The main motivations for starting the use of e-cigarettes were curiosity (47.70%), and the influence of friends and/or family (31.61%). Advancing age and being employed reduced the chance of using e-cigarettes by 7% and 67%, respectively, while higher family income increased the chance of e-cigarette use by 28%. The use of conventional cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana increased this chance by 6.4; 11.8 and 3.7 times, respectively. Conclusion: The high prevalence of e-cigarette use among undergraduate students stands out. The main reasons to start e-cigarette use were curiosity, and the influence of friends and/or family. Further, e-cigarette use was associated with age, family income, being employed, use of conventional cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana. Due to the high prevalence of e-cigarette use among Brazilian undergraduate students, higher education institutions should initiate awareness campaigns that communicate the health risks linked to their use.