A systematic review of experimental and longitudinal studies on e-cigarette use cessation.

BACKGROUND: The present study addresses the need to synthesize the findings in the current literature on e-cigarette use cessation. METHODS: PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases were searched in November 2022 to systematically review studies focused on intentions, attempts, and successful e-cigarette use cessation. Three authors independently reviewed the full-texts of the initial pool of potentially eligible articles. Narrative data synthesis was conducted, and the risk of bias was evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 12 studies were selected for review, 7 of which were experimental and 5longitudinal. The majority of the studies focused on participants' intentions to quit e-cigarette use. The experimental studies varied in sample size, intervention type, and length of participant follow-up. Findings across the experimental studies were mixed, with only one full-fledged trial having examined cessation as an outcome. The experimental studies that assessed cessation outcomes utilized mobile technology as an intervention tool. Results from longitudinal studies indicated sociodemographic characteristics (gender, race/ethnicity), vaping frequency, and cigarette smoking status as predictors of intentions, attempts and e-cigarette use cessation. CONCLUSION: This review highlights the current paucity of methodologically rigorous research on e-cigarette use cessation. Our findings suggest that vaping cessation programs that employ mobile health technology to provide personalized cessation services may help promote intentions, attempts, and e-cigarette use cessation. Limitations of the current studies on vaping cessation include small sample sizes, heterogeneous cohorts that limit comparisons, and inconsistent ways of assessing vaping cessation. Future research needs to test long-term intervention effects using experimental and prospective designs among representative samples.

Predictors of Discontinued E-Cigarette Use at One-Year Follow-Up in a Sample of Young Adults.

BACKGROUND: Currently, the research on factors associated with young adults' discontinuation of e-cigarette use behavior is limited. This study tested the predictors of self-reported e-cigarette abstinence at one-year follow-up among young adult baseline current e-cigarette users. The following variables were tested as predictors: demographics, cigarette smoking, e-cigarette use dependence, e-cigarette use duration, harm perceptions, and preferred aspects of e-cigarette use, including sensations, flavor, and device characteristics. METHODS: Data were provided at two time-points one year apart by 435 ethnically diverse young adults (M age = 22.3, SD = 3.1; 63% women) who reported current e-cigarette use at baseline. RESULTS: Approximately 42% of those who reported current e-cigarette use at baseline (i.e., 184 out of 435 participants) reported discontinuation of e-cigarette use at one-year follow-up. Results indicated that higher e-cigarette dependence, longer history of e-cigarette use, lower e-cigarette harm perceptions, greater preference for both menthol and sweet flavors, for open-pod-based devices, and for e-cigarette use sensations such as buzz, taste and smell of flavors, and throat hit at baseline were associated with lower likelihood of e-cigarette use discontinuation at one-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Characteristics associated with nicotine (e.g., dependence) and flavors (e.g., taste and smell) appear to drive the continuation/discontinuation of e-cigarette use among young adults. Thus, cessation strategies may need to be developed with a focus on dependence and harm perceptions related to nicotine and flavors. Furthermore, better regulating open-pod-based devices and sweet-menthol flavors may help e-cigarette use prevention.

The Effects of E-Cigarette Use on Alcohol and Marijuana Abuse Symptoms in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Young Adults.

BACKGROUND: We examined e-cigarette use as a prospective predictor of alcohol and marijuana abuse symptoms in a sample consisting of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI), Filipino, Asian (i.e., Japanese, Chinese, Korean), and White young adults. NHPI represent a highly vulnerable group with regard to substance use and are severely understudied. METHODS: Data were collected from 1463 young adults (M age = 22.2, SD = 3.2; 59.5% women) enrolled across community colleges in Hawai'i at two time-points six months apart. RESULTS: Higher frequency of e-cigarette use at baseline was predictive of higher alcohol (B = 0.06, SE = 0.02, p < 0.01) and marijuana (B = 0.06, SE = 0.02, p < 0.01) use problems at six-month follow up, adjusting for baseline cigarette smoking, problem alcohol/marijuana use, sensation seeking, and demographic variables. Ethnicity was found to significantly moderate the relationship between baseline e-cigarette use and problem marijuana use later, such that White and NHPI ethnicities were particularly vulnerable to the effects of e-cigarette use on problem marijuana use. CONCLUSION: NHPI are often combined with Asians in national surveys, which obfuscates the higher risks faced by NHPI compared with groups that are routinely classified as Asians (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos). The current research highlights the NHPI's vulnerability in terms of the effects of e-cigarette use on marijuana and alcohol abuse symptoms.