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 One in three e-cigarette users are vaping daily, researchers report
in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
"Electronic cigarette use is also closely associated with other
high-risk behaviors," said senior study author Dr. Michael Blaha,
director of clinical research for the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center
for the Prevention of Heart Disease in Baltimore. "The most common
pattern of use in the U.S. is dual use, i.e. current use of both
traditional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes."
Twenty-somethings, smokers of traditional cigarettes, unemployed
adults, and people who identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay, and
transgender (LGBT) are more likely than other individuals to use
e-cigarettes, the study also found.
"It is becoming clear that specific vulnerable groups are at highest
risk of adopting electronic cigarettes," Blaha said by email.
Big tobacco companies, including Altria Group Inc, Lorillard Tobacco
Co and Reynolds American Inc, are all developing e-cigarettes. The
battery-powered devices feature a glowing tip and a heating element
that turns liquid nicotine and other flavorings into a cloud of
vapor that users inhale.
E-cigarettes containing nicotine can be addictive like traditional
cigarettes. Even without nicotine, some research suggests that
flavorings and other ingredients in e-liquids used for vaping could
be linked to serious breathing problems.
Another open question is whether e-cigarettes might help some people
cut back on smoking traditional cigarettes or quit altogether, and
the study doesn't offer a clear answer.
Overall, 1.4 percent of people in the study who never smoked
traditional cigarettes used e-cigarettes, as did 7.6 percent of
ex-smokers and 14.4 percent of current smokers.
Men vaped more often than women; 5.9 percent of men reported current
e-cigarette use compared with 3.7 percent of women.
Vaping was even more common among sexual minorities. Seven percent
of lesbian and gay people were current e-cigarette users, as were 9
percent of bisexual adults and 8.7 percent of transgender
individuals.
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People with chronic medical problems like heart disease, cancer,
asthma and breathing disorders were also more likely to vape than
individuals without these common health issues.
A limitation, however, is that all of the data was self-reported and
not verified by medical records. Researchers also didn't know the
type of e-cigarette devices people used or the liquids they vaped,
which might influence health outcomes associated with vaping.
One advantage of the study is that researchers had responses from
nearly 467,000 adults, making it possible to examine trends for
subgroups like LGBTQ individuals in a way that wouldn't be possible
with a smaller survey.
"We know that most e-cigarette users are smokers of conventional
cigarettes and that LGBTQ adults are more likely to smoke
conventional cigarettes, so I am not surprised that the prevalence
of e-cigarette use is higher among LGBTQ individuals," said Dr.
Nancy Rigotti, director of the Tobacco Research and Treatment Center
at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical
School in Boston.
"Current smokers and recent quitters are the groups in which e-cig
use is highest," Rigotti, author of an accompanying editorial, said
by email.
"Why LGBTQ adults are more likely to smoke cigarettes is a complex
question, but these individuals have a higher prevalence of other
substance use disorders and mental health (diagnoses)," Rigotti
added. "Tobacco use is high in adults with these conditions and this
no doubt contributes to the higher level of tobacco use in LGBT
individuals."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2wkECfL Annals of Internal Medicine, online
August 27, 2018.
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