Major progress could be made in fighting the youth vaping epidemic with a complete restriction on sweet flavourings and cooling agents in both cartridge and disposable e-cigarette devices, according to a study from the Center for Tobacco Research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC).
The study, published in the Journal of Studies on Addiction and Drugs, suggests that sweet flavourings and cooling agents like menthol keep youth puffing e-cigarettes, and the majority indicate they would likely stop vaping if e-liquid flavours were limited to tobacco flavour only.
Researchers surveyed 1,414 individuals between the ages of 14 and 17 regarding their e-cigarette use and behaviours. This included demographic and self-reported information about the type of device used, usage habits, preferred flavours, and intent to discontinue the use of the vaping device in response to the proposed hypothetical comprehensive flavour ban.
Overall, nearly 39 per cent of the survey’s respondents reported they would stop using their e-cigarettes if tobacco and menthol-flavoured e-liquids were the only options available, and nearly 71 per cent would quit vaping under a tobacco-only product standard.
Alayna Tackett, senior author of the study and a researcher with the Center for Tobacco Research at the OSUCCC, said, “Our data add to an expanding body of evidence showing that youth have a preference for sweet flavourings that make vaping easier for novice users of e-cigarette products, priming them for a potential lifetime of dependency to nicotine.”
Alayna noted that adolescents and young adults using flavours with cooling additives (such as fruit ice) reported higher odds of discontinuing use under a tobacco-only product standard compared with users who preferred menthol flavour only, indicating an important distinction between these groups. (Fruit ice refers to e-cigarette flavours that have a fruit base characterising flavour with a cooling additive such as menthol or a synthetic cooling agent.)
Alayna said, “In this sample of adolescents and young adults, it appears that non-tobacco flavours may be important for their interest in and continued use of e-cigarettes.”
It is unknown if the current self-reported intentions would extend to actual behaviour in the natural environment and how this may impact the use or uptake of other tobacco products. Future research might benefit from examining this scenario in areas or states that have flavour restrictions using a more representative sample (the convenience sample used was majority white and majority female).
Alayna says preventing the use of e-cigarettes among young people is a crucial goal for public health, but she also points to the potential impact of e-cigarette regulation on adults who smoke and have begun using e-cigarettes as an alternative to quitting altogether.
Alayna explained, “Many adults prefer using non-tobacco flavours to switch from combustible cigarettes to e-cigarettes. Flavour restriction policies should consider the best ways to protect public health while supporting adults who are interested in choosing potentially less harmful alternatives to combustible cigarettes.”