Categorizing Vaping Intensity among Youth, Nicotine & Tobacco Research
Catherine Xie, Abra M Jeffers, Jonathan P Winickoff, Categorizing Vaping Intensity among Youth, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 16 Jan 2024;, ntae003, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntae003
“This study found that an intensity metric (puffs per month) was strongly associated with cravings, best friend use, harm perception, and lack of intention to quit. This metric provides a more accurate picture of the intensity of youth e-cigarette use than other commonly used measures and may be important for understanding the current and future impact of the youth e-cigarette epidemic.
Adolescent addiction to e-cigarettes affects learning, memory, and attention. However, it is unknown whether the intensity of use, puffs per month, differs from frequency, days of use per month, in relation to addiction measures. This study provides evidence that high-intensity use characterized by puffs per month has a stronger association with cravings compared to frequency, which suggests puffs per month may be a better measure of nicotine exposure. This new intensity metric may give insights into youth e-cigarette use patterns, addiction, and appropriate treatment of intense but intermittent users.”
https://academic.oup.com/ntr/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ntr/ntae003/7560314
Comment: Assessing smoking intensity using puffs per month seems to reflect the level of addiction to electronic cigarettes better than other metrics, and this has implications for treatment, especially for youth and young adults.
Stephen Hamann
