Initiation of Traditional Cigarette Smoking after Electronic Cigarette Use Among Tobacco-Naïve US Young Adults.

Primack BA, Shensa A, Sidani JE, Hoffman BL, Soneji S, Sargent JD, Hoffman RM, Fine MJ. Initiation of Traditional Cigarette Smoking after Electronic Cigarette Use Among Tobacco-Naïve US Young Adults. The American journal of medicine. 2018 Apr 1; 131(4):443.e1-443.e9.

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Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Although electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) may help some smokers quit, some young adult never-smokers are now using e-cigarettes recreationally, potentially increasing their risk for initiation of smoking. We aimed to determine the association between baseline e-cigarette use and subsequent initiation of cigarette smoking among initially never-smoking young adults. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study with assessments at baseline (March 2013) and follow-up (October 2014). We used sampling frames representing 97% of the US population to recruit a nationally representative sample of never-smoking young adults aged 18 to 30 years. The independent variable was baseline ever use of e-cigarettes. The main outcome measure was initiation of traditional cigarette smoking between baseline and 18-month follow-up. RESULTS: Baseline surveys were completed by 1506 never-smoking young adults, of whom 915 (60.8%) completed follow-up. There were no demographic differences between responders and nonresponders. After applying survey weights-which accounted for both nonresponse and overcoverage or undercoverage-2.5% of the represented population of never-smokers (801,010 of 32,040,393) used e-cigarettes at baseline. Cigarette smoking was initiated by 47.7% of e-cigarette users and 10.2% of nonusers (P  =  .001). In fully adjusted multivariable models, e-cigarette use at baseline was independently associated with initiation of smoking at 18 months (adjusted odds ratio, 6.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-28.3). Results remained similar in magnitude and statistically significant in all sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Baseline e-cigarette use was independently associated with initiation of traditional cigarette smoking at 18 months. This finding supports policy and educational interventions designed to decrease use of e-cigarettes among nonsmokers.