Awareness of electronic cigarette industry practices and their associations with anti-electronic cigarette attitudes among susceptible US young adults

Abstract

BackgroundPublic education exposing cigarette industry practices have been effective in changing attitudes and preventing smoking among young people. It is unclear how much young adults are aware of e-cigarette industry practices, and how this awareness relates to anti-e-cigarette attitudes. We examined demographic correlates of awareness of e-cigarette industry practices and anti-e-cigarette attitudes, and the association between awareness of these practices with anti-e-cigarette attitudes.MethodsA US sample of young adults aged 18–30 years who do not use commercial tobacco products but are susceptible to e-cigarette use were cross-sectionally surveyed through online panel services from August 2021 to January 2022. Respondents reported their demographics, awareness of cigarette industry practices, awareness of e-cigarette industry practices and their level of agreement with four anti-e-cigarette attitude statements. We used multivariable linear regressions to examine demographic associations and the relationship between awareness of e-cigarette industry practices with each anti-e-cigarette attitude, adjusting for demographics and awareness of cigarette industry practices.ResultsGenerally, Hispanic and Black young adults (vs White) and those with <US$75 000 annual household income (vs ≥US$75 000) knew of fewer e-cigarette industry practices. Black young adults (vs White) and those with <US$75 000 annual household income (vs ≥US$75,000) also had lower levels of agreement with anti-e-cigarette attitudes. Awareness of e-cigarette industry practices (vs awareness of zero practices) were associated with stronger agreement with each of the four anti-e-cigarette attitudes.DiscussionPublic education exposing e-cigarette industry practices may promote anti-e-cigarette attitudes among susceptible young adults who do not use commercial tobacco products. Future research should investigate the utility of anti-e-cigarette industry messaging.