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. 2023 Jan 21:21:05.
doi: 10.18332/tid/156459. eCollection 2023.

Use of tobacco and e-cigarettes among youth in Great Britain in 2022: Analysis of a cross-sectional survey

Parris J Williams  1 , Hazel Cheeseman  2 , Deborah Arnott  2 , Laura Bunce  2 , Nicholas S Hopkinson  1 , Anthony A Laverty  3
Affiliations

Use of tobacco and e-cigarettes among youth in Great Britain in 2022: Analysis of a cross-sectional survey

Parris J Williams et al. Tob Induc Dis. .

Abstract

Introduction: Although e-cigarettes can be an effective form of nicotine substitution for adults attempting to quit smoking, their use among children and young people is a concern. Accurate data about this are needed to inform debates over policy and regulation in the UK and elsewhere.

Methods: Using data from an online survey of 2613 youth aged 11-18 years, conducted by the market research company YouGov in March 2022, we present prevalence estimates of e-cigarette and tobacco use. We use logistic regression models to assess differences in e-cigarette use, tobacco use and use of disposable e-cigarettes across a range of covariates including age, sex, tobacco smoking status, social class, and country.

Results: Among the 18.0% of those surveyed who reported ever having smoked a cigarette, 83.9% were not regular (at least once per week) smokers and 16.1% were (15.1% and 2.9% of the total sample, respectively). Among the 19.2% of those surveyed who had ever used an e-cigarette, 79.2% were not regular users, while 20.8% were (15.2% and 4.0% of the total sample, respectively). Regular e-cigarette use was more common than regular tobacco smoking (4.0% vs 2.9%). E-cigarette use was more common among those who also smoked tobacco, with 9.0% of never e-cigarette users ever smoking tobacco, compared with 89.4% of regular e-cigarette users. Both smoking and e-cigarette use were associated with increasing age and use by others within the home, but not with social class. Use of disposable e-cigarettes was reported by 53.8% of those who have ever used an e-cigarette, and more common among females than males.

Conclusions: Regular e-cigarette use is now more common than smoking in children and youth, though the majority of this is among those who have also smoked tobacco. Measures to reduce the appeal of both e-cigarettes and tobacco to children and young people are warranted.

Keywords: Great Britain; e-cigarettes; youth tobacco use.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have each completed and submitted an ICMJE form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. The authors declare that they have no competing interests, financial or otherwise, related to the current work. N.S. Hopkinson reports that in the past 36 months he is the Medical Director at Asthma and Lung UK and Chair at Action on Smoking and Health (UK). A.A. Laverty reports that in the past 36 months received consulting fees from the World Health Organization to contribute to a systematic review on health effects of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems and a Trustee at Action on Smoking in Lung Health.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
E-cigarette use among those aged 11–18 years, in Great Britain, 2022
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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