Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Dec:2:80.
doi: 10.18332/tpc/66950.

PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS OF E-CIGARETTE TRIAL AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN ARGENTINA

Paola Morello  1 , Adriana Pérez  1   2 , Lorena Peña  1 , Paula Lozano  3 , James F Thrasher  3 , James D Sargent  4 , Raúl Mejía  4
Affiliations

PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS OF E-CIGARETTE TRIAL AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN ARGENTINA

Paola Morello et al. Tob Prev Cessat. 2016 Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: Over the last few years, the increasing use of electronic cigarettes has become a new public health problem. Since 2011, Argentina has had a complete ban on marketing and sale of e-cigarettes. However, e-cigarettes are marketed online and can be easily bought in stores. We conducted a longitudinal study to evaluate the determinants of e-cigarette trial among Argentinean early adolescents.

Methods: A school-based longitudinal study was conducted in 2014-15, in 3 large cities in Argentina. Among students who reported never smoking an e-cigarette at baseline, we assessed demographics, media use, sensation seeking, smoking behavior, network member smoking, use of other substances, and perception of e-cigarette risk as potential risk factors for e-cigarette trial at follow up (mean between-wave interval 17.1 months) using multilevel logistic regression models with random intercepts for schools.

Results: E-cigarette trial prevalence increased from baseline (1.8%; n=57) to follow up (7.1%; n=139). Independent predictors of e-cigarette use at follow up included: higher sensation seeking (OR: 1.49 95% CI 1.21-1.84); being a current smoker (OR: 2.58 95% CI 1.38-4.83); having close friends that smoke cigarettes (OR: 1.93 95% CI 1.25-2.99) and being highly exposed to tobacco product ads online (OR: 1.87 95% CI 1.04-3.36). Attending a public school was the only protective factor (OR: 0.40 95% CI 0.22-0.73).

Conclusion: In Argentina, illicit trial of e-cigarettes among early adolescents is low but appears to be rapidly increasing. Identifying students at risk could help identify policies and programs to prevent increasing use in this population.

Keywords: Argentina; E-cigarette; adolescent health; adolescents; public policies; school.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2015: raising taxes on tobacco. World Health Organization, Geneva: 2015. Available at http://www.who.int/tobacco/global_report/2015/report/en/
    1. Gravely S, Fong GT, Cummings KM, et al. Awareness, trial, and current use of electronic cigarettes in 10 countries: Findings from the ITC project. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2014;11(11):11691–704. doi: 10.3390/ijerph111111691 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. White J, Li J, Newcombe R, et al. Tripling use of electronic cigarettes among New Zealand adolescents between 2012 and 2014. J Adolesc Health 2015;56(5):522–528. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.01.022 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Babineau K, Taylor K, Clancy L. Electronic Cigarette Use among Irish Youth: A Cross Sectional Study of Prevalence and Associated Factors. Plos One 2015;10(5):e0126419. doi: 0.1371/journal.pone.0126419 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Singh T, Arrazola RA, Corey CG, et al. Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011–2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:361–367. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6514a1 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources