title: Reasons to use e-cigarettes and associations with other substances among adolescents in Switzerland.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objectives of this research were to describe the main reason(s) why adolescents use electronic cigarettes, to assess how e-cigarette experimenters and users differ based on personal characteristics, and to determine whether its use is associated with the use of other substances among a representative sample of youths in Switzerland.
  
  
  METHODS
  A representative sample of 621 youths (308 females) was divided into never users (n=353), experimenters (Only once, n=120) and users (Several times, n=148) of e-cigarettes. Groups were compared on socio-demographic data and current smoking, alcohol misuse and cannabis use. Reasons for e-cigarette use were compared between experimenters and users. A multinomial regression was performed using never users as the reference category.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-three percent had ever tried e-cigarettes, and the main reason was curiosity. Compared to never users, experimenters were more likely to be out of school (Relative Risk Ratio [RRR]: 2.68) and to misuse alcohol (RRR: 2.08), while users were more likely to be male (RRR: 2.75), to be vocational students (RRR: 2.30) or out of school (RRR: 3.48) and to use any of the studied substances (tobacco, RRR: 5.26; alcohol misuse, RRR: 2.71; cannabis use, RRR: 30.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although often still part of adolescent experimentation, e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular among adolescents and they should become part of health providers' standard substance use screening. As health providers (and especially paediatricians) do not seem to have high levels of knowledge and, consequently, little comfort in discussing e-cigarettes, training in this domain should be available to them.
authors.affiliation: Research Group on Adolescent Health, Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, 10 Route de la Corniche, CH-1010 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: joan-carles.suris@chuv.ch.
authors.forename: Joan-Carles
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Surís
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Sciences & LIVES, Bâtiment Géopolis, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: andre.berchtold@unil.ch.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berchtold
authors.affiliation: Research Group on Adolescent Health, Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, 10 Route de la Corniche, CH-1010 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: christina.akre@chuv.ch.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Akre
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D066300:Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013557:Switzerland
keywords: Adolescence; Electronic cigarettes; Substance use