Associations between e-cigarette marketing exposure and vaping nicotine and cannabis among U.S. adults, 2021

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2-4-2024

Journal

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences

DOI

10.1101/2024.02.03.24302079

Keywords

Cannabis E-cigarettes; E-cigarettes; Marketing Influence; Nicotine E-cigarettes

Abstract

IMPORTANCE: Vaping has become an increasingly common method for consuming nicotine and cannabis, a trend potentially influenced by e-cigarette marketing. However, little is known about the influence of e-cigarette marketing on cannabis vaping behaviors. OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations between e-cigarette marketing exposure and nicotine and cannabis vaping behaviors among adults. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study included a U.S. nationally representative sample of adults (≥18 years) from the Wave 6 survey of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, conducted from March to November 2021. EXPOSURE: Past 30-day e-cigarette marketing exposure (overall and by ten marketing channels). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Past 30-day vaping behavior (sole- and dual-vaping of nicotine and cannabis) overall and stratified by age. RESULTS: The study included 30,516 respondents (48.0% male and 63.9% non-Hispanic White). Overall, 52.0% of respondents reported past 30-day e-cigarette marketing exposure, and 89.8%, 5.6%, 3.2%, and 1.4% reported no vaping, sole-nicotine vaping, sole-cannabis vaping, and dual-vaping, respectively. Multinominal logistic regression results show exposure to e-cigarette marketing was associated with increased odds of reporting sole-cannabis vaping versus no vaping (adjusted risk ratio [aRR], 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09-1.57) and dual-vaping versus no vaping (aRR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.01-1.57). Stratification analysis found these associations among those aged 18-24 and 25-34 years but not older adults (≥35 years). Those exposed to e-cigarette marketing also had increased odds of reporting sole-cannabis vaping versus sole-nicotine vaping (aRR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.04-1.58). Stratification analysis found this association only among those aged 18-24 years. E-cigarette marketing exposure via several channels (retail stores, billboards, events, newspapers/magazines) was associated with increased odds of reporting sole-cannabis vaping. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: E-cigarette marketing exposure was only associated with sole-cannabis vaping and dual-vaping, not sole-nicotine vaping among U.S. adults. Such associations were mainly driven by young adults aged 18-24 and 25-35 years and were found for multiple marketing channels. Greater restrictions on tobacco marketing may have reduced the influence of e-cigarette marketing on nicotine vaping, while gaps in such marketing restrictions for cannabis may contribute to continued influence of e-cigarette marketing on cannabis vaping.

Department

Prevention and Community Health

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