E-cigarette use and intention to initiate or quit smoking among US youths

Objectives. We assessed whether e-cigarette use is associated with (1) intention to smoke cigarettes among never-smoking youths and youth experimenters, and (2) intention to quit smoking among current youth smokers. Methods. We categorized participants from the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey data (n = 20 193) as never-smoking youth (n = 16 238), youth experimenters (n = 3248), and current youth smokers (n = 707). We matched groups on the basis of a propensity score comprising covariates predicting e-cigarette use. Results. E-cigarette users who had never smoked cigarettes (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.62; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.04, 6.45) and who had experimented with smoking (AOR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.50, 2.64) had elevated intention to smoke cigarettes compared with their counterparts who had never used e-cigarettes. We did not find any significant association between e-cigarette use and intention to quit smoking among current youth smokers (P =.33). Conclusions. E-cigarette use among US youths is associated with intention to smoke but not with intention to quit smoking.