Association of Vaping Identity and e-Cigarette Perceptions among Young Adults Who Vape

Abstract

Background: In the U.S., 9.3% of young adults currently vape. However, little is known about how vaping identity (i.e., internalizing vaping as an important part of oneself) can influence young adults’ e-cigarette perceptions. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between vaping identity and e-cigarette perceptions among young adults. Methods: Young adults who vape (N = 252, Mage = 24.7) were recruited to participate in an online survey assessing a trusted source of health information, e-cigarette harm perceptions, and intentions to abstain from vaping. We estimated associations between vaping identity on outcomes and the interaction of vaping identity and combustible cigarette use on outcomes. Results: Participants with higher vaping identity reported lower trust in government health agencies and a doctor, and higher trust in the tobacco industry and e-cigarette industry (ps < 0.05). Those with higher vaping identity also reported lower e-cigarette harm perceptions and intentions to abstain from vaping (ps < 0.05). Conclusions: Findings show that higher vaping identity is associated with greater trust in the tobacco industry, lower trust in health experts, lower e-cigarette harm perceptions, and lower intentions to abstain from using e-cigarettes. This suggests that efforts to reduce vaping among young adults may need to leverage messages that reduce the credibility of the tobacco industry and prevent nonsmoking young adults from developing a vaping identity.

Keywords:

• Vaping identity
• source trust
• harm perceptions
• young adults
• e-cigarettes

Disclosure statement

Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse award R00DA046563 (EMS, PI) and the National Institutes of Health training awards under T32CA172009 (DNL) and T32CA057711-27 (JL).