YOUTH RESPONSES TO E-CIGARETTES, E-CIGARETTE RETAILING, AND E-CIGARETTE PACKAGING IN ENGLAND, CANADA, AND THE UNITED STATES

Background: There are concerns that e-cigarette use (vaping) among youth may lead to exposure to nicotine and other constituents, nicotine addiction, and progression to tobacco smoking.

Vaping among UK youth is low but there are concerns that this could increase, particularly given rises in youth vaping in Canada and the US.

Aims: We aim to examine 1a) youth responses e-cigarettes, among older youth, 16-24-years old, including patterns of use, dependence, products used, and brands used, and exposure and 1b) perceptions and exposure to public health messaging around e-cigarettes in England compared to Canada and the US, 2) levels content of e-cigarettes marketing at the point-of-purchase, and 3) the content, appeal and harm perceptions of e-cigarette packaging, including the possible impact of standardised packaging of e-cigarettes among youth and adults.

Methodology: 1) Augmentation of the International Tobacco Control Youth Survey (16-19-years) in England, Canada, and the US, to include 16-24-year olds to examine patterns of use, dependence, and products used among older youth, and measures of exposure to e-cigarette public health messaging. 2) an audit of brick and mortar and online e-cigarette retailers. 3) Analysis of e-cigarette packaging in England, Canada, and the US, and packaging experiments to compare branded v standardised packaging among youth and adults.

Results: This study will help inform policy decisions regarding whether further regulatory action around e-cigarettes is needed in order to prevent youth uptake, such as stricter regulations on advertising at the point-of-purchase, and standardised packaging, while at the same time considering the impact that these regulations could have on smokers who may use e-cigarettes for cessation.