Abstract
The behaviors and opinions regarding e-cigarette use and campus policies prohibiting vaping vary greatly among college students nationally. Kentucky is one of the four U.S. states with the highest tobacco use prevalence, and characterizing e-cigarette use, trends and policy opinions among Kentucky undergraduates may inform interventions. To characterize population-level differences in e-cigarette-related behaviors and policy opinions among undergraduates from 2014 to 2018, results from two cross-sectional surveys (2014 and 2018) from a public regional university in south-central Kentucky were analyzed. Students from randomly selected undergraduate general studies courses completed a 5-minute in-class survey. Data were obtained from 514 and 519 respondents in 2014 and 2018, respectively. Mean age did not differ (19.9 and 20.1 years; p = 0.41) nor did class rank (p = 0.30) by survey year. Chi-square analysis indicated previous 30-day e-cigarette use was higher in 2018 than 2014 (28% vs. 18%; p < 0.001), and current cigarette use was lower in 2018 than 2014 (13% vs. 25%; p < 0.001). When current smoking and recent e-cigarette use were combined as a use variable, there was no significant difference between 2018 (29%) and 2014 (30%). Fraternity/sorority affiliation, being under 22 years old, male gender, out-of-state residency, and having a smoking parent were associated with recent e-cigarette use in multivariable logit models. Support for the on-campus vaping prohibition was lower among 2018 respondents (68% approval) compared to 2014 respondents (74% approval), respectively (p = 0.022). Overall, these findings may inform policy, population-specific health communications, and future research.
Highlights
Kentucky has been identified as a “high cigarette/e-cigarette” U.S state, ranking among the top four states for both the prevalence of current e-cigarette use and current cigarette use (El-Shahawy et al 2019)
Monitoring the prevalence and risk factors for e-cigarette use in this region can inform health policies while strengthening assessments of federal pol icies in all communities
Characterizing regional differences in tobacco use prevalence among college students will remain valuable for evaluating policies aimed at curbing youth and young adult tobacco use, such as national “Tobacco 21” (T21) legislation as signed into U.S law in December 2019 as policy enforcement and compliance will likely vary by states and communities (Dobbs et al, 2020; Muralidharan et al, 2019)
Summary
Kentucky has been identified as a “high cigarette/e-cigarette” U.S state, ranking among the top four states for both the prevalence of current e-cigarette use and current cigarette use (El-Shahawy et al 2019). Characterizing regional differences in tobacco use prevalence among college students will remain valuable for evaluating policies aimed at curbing youth and young adult tobacco use, such as national “Tobacco 21” (T21) legislation as signed into U.S law in December 2019 as policy enforcement and compliance will likely vary by states and communities (Dobbs et al, 2020; Muralidharan et al, 2019). The American Lung Association (2020) ranks Kentucky among 13 states with the weakest statewide restrictions on smoking with respect to Kentucky’s smoke-free regulations. Ken tucky is among 20 states with a C-grade from the U.S Vaping Index, which ranks Kentucky e-cigarette retail regulations related to taxes, flavors, and online sales as being more restrictive than the 24 states with A-grades (Consumer Choice Center, 2020)
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