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
. 2021 Jun:125:108304.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2021.108304. Epub 2021 Jan 27.

Nicotine and cannabis vaping among adolescents in treatment for substance use disorders

Kelly C Young-Wolff  1 , Sara R Adams  2 , Stacy A Sterling  2 , Andy S L Tan  3 , Ramzi G Salloum  4 , Kira Torre  5 , Lisa Carter-Harris  6 , Judith J Prochaska  7
Affiliations

Nicotine and cannabis vaping among adolescents in treatment for substance use disorders

Kelly C Young-Wolff et al. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

This study examined nicotine and cannabis vaping among adolescents in treatment for substance use disorders. Participants were 363 adolescents aged 12-17 (66% male, mean age = 15.5 [SD = 1.3], 46% non-Hispanic white) seen for a specialty addiction intake evaluation between 2017 and 2019 at one of six medical offices of a large, integrated health care system in Northern California. Multivariable logistic regression models tested for associations of sociodemographics, cigarette smoking, and substance use disorders with vaping behaviors. A majority of adolescents reported ever (68%) or current vaping (60%) of nicotine and/or cannabis; current vaping was similar for nicotine (50%) and cannabis (51%); 40% reported current vaping of both. Current smokers (6% of the sample) had higher odds of ever vaping (aOR = 3.95, 95%CI: 1.04-14.95). Black (versus non-Hispanic white) adolescents had lower odds of current nicotine vaping (aOR = 0.08, 95%CI: 0.02-0.37) and current vaping of both nicotine and cannabis (aOR = 0.12, 95%CI: 0.03-0.60). Having an alcohol use disorder was associated with current vaping (aOR = 2.14, 95%CI: 1.06-4.33). Those who endorsed that most friends get drunk/high (aOR = 1.87, 95%CI: 1.02-3.42) or that cannabis was their substance of choice (aOR = 2.36, 95%CI: 1.16-4.81) had higher odds of current cannabis vaping. Higher neighborhood household income ($80,000-$120,000 and >$120,000 vs. <$80,000, aORs = 2.05-9.48), never versus ever blunt use (aORs = 2.47-8.68), and intakes in 2018 and 2019 versus 2017 (aORs = 2.18-5.38) were associated with higher odds of all vaping outcomes. Vaping was common among adolescents in addiction treatment and varied with sociodemographics and substance-related factors. Research should assess how vaping impacts the development of substance use disorders and whether it interferes with addiction treatment.

Keywords: Addiction treatment; Adolescents; Cannabis; E-cigarette; Nicotine; Vaping.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

JPP has provided consultation to pharmaceutical and technology companies that make medications and other treatments for quitting smoking and has served as an expert witness in lawsuits against the tobacco companies. The other authors declare that they have no financial relationships with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other authors report no conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. American Lung Association. (2020). E-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI). https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/evali. Accessed September 30, 2020.
    1. Barrington-Trimis JL, Berhane K, Unger JB, Cruz TB, Huh J, Leventhal AM, et al. (2015). Psychosocial factors associated with adolescent electronic cigarette and cigarette use. Pediatrics, 136(2), 308–317. 10.1542/peds.2015-0639. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barrington-Trimis JL, Berhane K, Unger JB, Cruz TB, Urman R, Chou CP, et al. (2016). The e-cigarette social environment, e-cigarette use, and susceptibility to cigarette smoking. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59(1), 75–80. 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.03.019. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Budney AJ, Sargent JD, & Lee DC. (2015). Vaping cannabis (marijuana): parallel concerns to ecigs? Addiction, 110(11), 1699–1704. 10.1111/add.13036. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Campbell BK, Le T, Gubner NR, & Guydish J (2019). Health risk perceptions and reasons for use of tobacco products among clients in addictions treatment. Addictive Behaviors, 91, 149–155. 10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.08.037. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types