Electronic Cigarette Use and Associated Risk Factors in U.S.-Dwelling Pacific Islander Young Adults

Abstract

Background: E-cigarette use is rapidly increasing among US young adults, heightening their risk for vaping-related illnesses. Yet, little is known about e-cigarette use among young adult Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI): an indigenous-colonized US racial group rarely described in research literature. This exploratory study provides the first known data on e-cigarette use and potential risk factors in NHPI young adults. Method: Self-report data were collected from 143 NHPI young adults (age 18–30 years) living in two large NHPI communities: Samoans in urban Los Angeles County and Marshallese in rural Arkansas. We assessed rates of e-cigarette, cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use, and positive and negative outcome expectancies from e-cigarettes, that is expected outcomes from e-cigarette use. To identify potential risk factors for NHPI e-cigarette use, regressions explored associations between participants’ current e-cigarette use with current cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use, and e-cigarette outcome expectancies. Results: Among NHPI young adults, lifetime e-cigarette use rate was 53% and current use rate was 39%. Current rate of dual e-cigarette/cigarette, e-cigarette/alcohol, and e-cigarette/marijuana use was 38%, 35%, and 25%, respectively. In our regression models, current marijuana use and positive e-cigarette outcome expectancies were significantly associated with current e-cigarette use. Conclusions: E-cigarette use is common among NHPI young adults, exceeding rates for other at-risk racial groups. Marijuana use and positive expectations about e-cigarette use may represent potential e-cigarette use risk factors. Collectively, findings underscore the need for additional research to further explore the scope of, and risk and protective factors for, e-cigarette use in this understudied high-risk population.

Keywords:

• E-cigarettes
• Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
• e-cigarette outcome expectancies

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the hard work and close partnership of the Office of Samoan Affairs and the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese, and the interest and support of our Pacific Islander communities, who collectively made this study possible.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no interests to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [R21 AA026689]. LW has also received research support from the National Institutes of Health [UG1DA040317, R01MD007658], Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism or the National Institutes of Health.