E-cigarette use patterns, brand preference and knowledge about vaping among teenagers (13-16 years) and parents of children attending Christchurch Hospital.

Abstract

Parents attending hospital with children in New Zealand are routinely asked about tobacco use, but information about vaping is lacking. We assessed e-cigarette use, brand preferences, and knowledge during paediatric outpatient attendance at Christchurch Hospital. We undertook an anonymous online survey of teenagers and parents attending paediatric outpatient clinic in December 2021 to February 2022. The sample (n=95) were 16% Māori and 8.4% currently smoked (4.8% teenagers, 11.3% parents). We used descriptive and contingency table analysis. Ever vaping was reported in 33.3% of teenagers and 30.8% of parents, and current use in 7.1% vs 15.1%, respectively. Most teenagers selected "curiosity/just wanted to try them" as their reason for vaping, whereas parents selected vaping to quit or reduce/avoid smoking. More teenagers than parents used nicotine-containing e-cigarettes (100% vs 86.7%) and more parents vaped indoors (in home or car) when other people were present. The most important reasons for choosing particular e-cigarette brands among teenagers were price and flavours, with fruit flavours preferred. No teenagers obtained their e-cigarettes from vape shops versus 40% of parents. The primary source of information about vaping for teenagers and parents was friends/peers. Vaping was common among teenagers and parents; teenagers vaped for curiosity and flavours and obtained vape products from sources other than vape shops.