Who Uses E-cigarettes and Why? E-cigarette Use among Older Adolescents and Young Adults in Japan: JASTIS Study

ABSTRACT

A variety of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are sold in Japan and targeted toward young people. However, few studies have considered who uses e-cigarettes and why they use them. This study examined factors associated with e-cigarette use and the reasons for their use among the young population in Japan. Our internet-based cross-sectional study was conducted between February and March 2019. We analyzed the data of 2,414 participants aged 15–29 years to identify factors associated with e-cigarette use in the last 12 months and assess the reasons participants gave for their use. We found 4.3% of the participants had used e-cigarettes in the past 12 months. The multivariable logistic regression showed that the use of combustible or heated tobacco and perceiving e-cigarette use as an attractive behavior were associated with having used e-cigarettes. Interest in fruit flavors, stylish design and function of e-cigarettes, and the influence of friends using e-cigarettes were major reasons for their use. Although e-cigarette users are still a minority among this population, the flavors and design of e-cigarette products attract young people, and gain popularity in the youth community. This highlights an urgent need for the monitoring of e-cigarette and tobacco use among the young population in Japan.

KEYWORDS:

• adolescent
• electronic cigarettes
• Japan
• smoking
• tobacco
• young adult

Acknowledgments

The authors thank all study participants. We also thank to Dr Julia Mortimer for her technical support.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Sumiyo Okawa, upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher website.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Health Labour Sciences Research Grants under Grants H28-junkankitou-ippan-002, H28-junkankitou-ippan-008 and H29-tokubetsu-shitei-006; and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI under Grant 18H03062, and 19H01637.