Patterns and correlates of electronic cigarette use among college students

Objective: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have demonstrated a marked rise in popularity.  To date, there are a limited number of studies assessing e-cigarette use among college students, who may be more drawn to e-cigarettes due to their novelty and availability. Methods:  Data were collected from 1437 students from four upstate New York institutions using an internet survey assessing knowledge, awareness and patterns of use for e-cigarettes.  Results were summarized using descriptive statistics.   Logistic regression models were run to evaluate correlates of e-cigarette use.  Results: 95.6% of respondents reported awareness of e-cigarettes; 30.8% were ever users, and 15.0% were current users (used within past 30 days).  Among current users (n=215), 28.8% were unsure about the nicotine level in their e-cigarettes, 60.0% intended to use their e-cigarette for less than two months, while 22% planned to use for more than a year.  Most (79.0%) current users reported never using e-cigarettes and other tobacco in the same day.  Students ages 20-23 years, females, African Americans and respondents reporting better than average school ability demonstrated a lower odds of ever use or of current use.  Current (OR=22.22, 95% CI=12.70–38.84) and former (OR=7.87, 95% CI=5.65-10.93) cigarette smokers were more likely to have ever used an e-cigarette than never smokers; 7.0% of the sample were dual users (current smokers and e-cigarette users).  Conclusions: These findings show e-cigarette prevalence rates among college students in NY are higher than rates among the general U.S. adult population, suggesting this population may be more likely to initiate use of e-cigarettes.