E-cigarette sharing behavior among college students: An exploratory study

Abstract

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to explore sharing behavior among college students who use e-cigarettes.

Methods

A convenience sample of current e-cigarette users answered questionnaire items regarding sharing behavior (e.g., the number of people that have shared e-cigarettes, the settings that sharing takes place, reasons for sharing).

Results

Of the 121 participants, 24% shared e-cigarettes every day and 76% shared some days. The most common setting (91%) for sharing was at social gatherings, and participants shared most often (52%) with one or two people, which happened most often (99%) with friends. The top reason (80%) for sharing e-cigarettes was to feel the effects of nicotine.

Conclusions

The finds support the need to address sharing behavior in youth e-cigarette use and the need for more stringent e-cigarette policies and cessation resources.

Keywords:

• e-cigarette
• college
• students
• sharing
• brand

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Appalachian State University.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.