Use of electronic cigarette in France among adolescents aged 17: Results from the ESCAPAD 2017 survey

Introduction > The use of electronic cigarettes has become relatively popular in France since 2010, including among adolescents. However, its use in relation to smoking and other factors is not well understood today. Methods > The data come from the ESCAPAD 2017 survey, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey taking place at a 1-day session of civic and military information compulsory for all French nationals around 17 (39,115 respondents). Descriptive analyses and multivariate regressions were undertaken to describe the recent use of e-cigarette at 17 and its associated factors. Results > e-cigarettes were experimented by 52.4 % of 17 year-olds, and used by 16.8 % in the preceding month, 1.9 % daily. Most recent users were also daily smokers (62.5 %), and only 7.6 % had never experimented cigarettes before. Among those who experimented with both products, only 13.3 % tried e-cigarettes before cigarettes. The associated uses of other products were the most striking factors: daily smoking (relative risk [RR] = 2.73), ever use of hookah (RR = 2.31), cannabis use in the last year (RR = 1.60), regular alcohol drinking (RR = 1.20) and ever use of another illicit drug (RR = 1.11). Recent vapers that were also daily smokers had a more pronounced sociodemographic profile and a higher level of other drugs consumptions than recent vapers only. Discussion > Although a majority of French adolescents experiment with vaping, they are fewer to use it regularly and its current use is frequently associated with daily smoking. Future trends and the relationship between smoking and vaping among adolescents will have to be further investigated, including the motivations of its use.