E-cigarette exposure among high schools students in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study assessed the prevalence and determinants of e-cigarette experience among junior and senior high school students in Taiwan.

Methods: Data from the General Tobacco Hazard Proficiency Test were analyzed for n = 7,599 respondents during 2017. The knowledge and determinants of e-cigarettes exposure experience were assessed. The chi square, ANOVA test, and logistic regression were performed for inferential statistical analysis.

Results: A total of 30.5% of students had seen someone trying e-cigarettes; 70.6% of the students agree or strongly agree having clear knowledge about the shape and hazards of e-cigarettes. Among the students who had e-cigarettes exposure experience, adolescent boys were more likely than female students (aOR 1.315, 95% CI 1.186–1.457), vocational high school students have the highest rate (34.3%) of the schools (aOR 1.391, 95% CI 1.253–1.543), and students who had smoking family members were higher than those without smoking family members (aOR 2.220, 95% CI 1.978–2.491). Moreover, experiencing e-cigarettes was more likely among the students who had been exposed to second-hand smoke daily (aOR 2.188, 95% CI 1.864–2.568).

Conclusions: These findings underscore the need to evaluate the potential risk of e-cigarette use in adolescents, and develop effective intervention programs for e-cigarette regulation.

KEYWORDS:

• E-cigarette
• high school students
• Taiwan

Acknowledgments

The authors do not have any acknowledgments to make.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

All survey instruments used for data collection were reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Jen-Ai Hospital (IRB no. 106-33). Participation was voluntary and subjects were informed that their data may be linked to other external data, without any direct interaction with survey respondents.