Background: Use of electronic cigarettes is growing among young Pacific Islanders in the United States. Previous studies found many Pacific Islander smokers report using e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool.

Objective: To examine correlates of dual e-cigarette and combustible tobacco use among young Pacific Islanders recruited for a smoking cessation intervention.

Method: Baseline survey data of 277 Samoan and Tongan smokers ages 18 to 31 who participated in a culturally-tailored cessation program were used. The survey measured demographics, current tobacco and e-cigarette use, previous cessation attempts, tobacco-related knowledge on health effects of smoking and benefits of quitting, motivation to quit, and number of cigarettes smoked in the past month. This study employs logistic regression analysis on factors associated with exclusive cigarette smoking and dual e-cigarette and tobacco use.

Results: A total of 104 (37.6%) participants reported dual use of electronic and combustible cigarettes. Controlling for gender, education, age, marital status, nicotine dependence, and number of cigarettes smoked in the past month, significantly greater odds of engaging in dual use over combustible cigarette smoking were observed in participants with higher tobacco knowledge scores (OR: 4.13, p =.015) and previous cessation attempts (OR: 5.08, p =.002). However, dual users had significantly lower motivation to quit (OR: 0.46, p =.003) than cigarette smokers.

Conclusion: Although dual use of electronic and combustible cigarettes is associated with higher tobacco knowledge and previous cessation attempts, dual use may lower motivation to quit. Future studies should examine the risks or benefits of e-cigarette use among current smokers.