Electronic-cigarette smoking experience among adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the level of awareness and contact routes to electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), and to identify significant factors that may affect adolescent use of e-cigarettes; this study explores the experience of e-cigarettes among adolescents.


METHODS
Using the data from the 2008 Health Promotion Fund Project in Korea, we used a hierarchical logistic regression analysis to evaluate gender, level of school, family smoking, perception of peer influence, satisfaction in school life, and cigarette smoking experience as predictors of trying e-cigarettes among adolescents in five schools in Korea.


RESULTS
Overall, 444 (10.2%) students responded as having seen or heard of e-cigarettes. Twenty-two (.5%) students reported as having used an e-cigarette. The contact routes of information on e-cigarettes were the Internet (249, 46.4%), friends (150, 27.9%), television (59, 11.0%), books (50, 9.3%), and others (29, 5.4%). The following factors were determined to be statistically significant predictors of e-cigarette experience: male gender, perception of peer influence, satisfaction in school life, and cigarette smoking experience.


CONCLUSIONS
In light of this fact, continuous attention needs to be paid on the marketing of e-cigarettes on Internet sites to prevent adolescents from being exposed to unsupported claims about e-cigarettes and to provide appropriate information on health effects.
Department of Health Administration, Hanyang Women's University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jun Ho
JH
Cho
Eunyoung
E
Shin
Sang-Sik
SS
Moon
D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D009330:Nebulizers and Vaporizers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009538:Nicotine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010379:Peer Group; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D014030:Tobacco, Smokeless
D009538:Nicotine