Table 1.
Demographic and Tobacco Use Characteristics Among Adults From the United States Using E-cigarettes to Try to Quit Smoking (N = 857)
| Variable | Mean (SD) or N (%) |
|---|---|
| Age | 40.8 (12.3) |
| Male (ref: female) | 449 (52.4%) |
| Region | |
| West (ref) | 212 (24.7%) |
| Northeast | 160 (18.7%) |
| Midwest | 145 (16.9%) |
| South | 340 (39.7%) |
| Race/Ethnicity | |
| NH white (ref) | 538 (62.8%) |
| Hispanic | 186 (21.7%) |
| NH black | 66 (7.7%) |
| NH other1 | 67 (7.8%) |
| Education | |
| HS degree/GED or less (ref) | 165 (19.3%) |
| Some college or Associates Degree | 296 (34.5%) |
| Bachelor’s degree | 244 (28.5%) |
| Advanced degree | 152 (17.7%) |
| Income | |
| Do not meet basic needs (ref) | 62 (7.2%) |
| Just meet basic needs | 199 (23.2%) |
| Meet needs with a little leftover | 237 (27.7%) |
| Live comfortably | 359 (41.9%) |
| Tobacco use history | |
| Years smoked | 17.5 (12.7) |
| Cigarette dependence2 | 2.5 (0.9) |
| Cigarettes per day | 11.6 (7.6) |
| Number of smoking quit attempts | 5.7 (2.8) |
| Living with someone who smokes/vapes | 447 (52.2%) |
| Usual cigarettes menthol (vs. non-menthol) | 488 (56.9%) |
| Lifetime use of other tobacco products3 | 671 (78.3%) |
| E-cig use when trying to quit smoking | |
| Abrupt switch to vaping (vs. gradual reduction) | 315 (36.8%) |
| Had a specific plan to quit (e.g. quit day) | 410 (47.8%) |
| E-cigarette use in nonsmoking places (e.g. indoors) | 535 (62.4%) |
| E-cig frequency when trying to quit smoking | |
| Once or twice a day or less (ref) | 209 (24.4%) |
| Several times throughout the day | 318 (37.1%) |
| Many times throughout the day | 231 (27.0%) |
| Almost constantly throughout the day | 99 (11.5%) |
| E-cigarette flavors used when quitting | |
| Flavor preferred | |
| Fruit | 239 (28.0%) |
| Tobacco | 176 (20.6%) |
| Menthol | 168 (19.7%) |
| Mint | 90 (10.5%) |
| Candy | 67 (7.8%) |
| Vanilla | 32 (3.7%) |
| Alcohol | 32 (3.7%) |
| Coffee | 29 (3.4%) |
| Spice | 13 (1.5%) |
| Beverage | 7 (0.8%) |
| Other flavors | 1 (0.1%) |
| Total number of flavors used | 2.7 (1.7) |
| E-cigarette device type used when quitting | |
| Device Preferred | |
| Vape pen | 224 (26.1%) |
| Cig-a-like | 195 (22.8%) |
| JUUL | 131 (15.3%) |
| Mod/APV | 129 (15.1%) |
| Other rechargeable pod devices | 92 (10.7%) |
| Disposable pod | 71 (8.3%) |
| E-hookah | 15 (1.8%) |
| Total number of devices used | 2.3 (1.5) |
| Nicotine used when quitting | |
| Nicotine e-liquid (vs. no-nicotine) | 684 (83.0%) |
| Preferred nicotine concentration (mg/ml) | 19.7 (19.6) |
1NH Other: N = 29 multiracial, N = 23 Asian or Asian American, N = 9 American Indian or Alaska Native, N = 4 “Other”, N = 2 Pacific Islander.
2Measured by the PROMIS nicotine dependence scale,22 range 0–4 with higher scores indicating greater dependence.
3Lifetime use of other tobacco products: heated tobacco (e.g. iQOS), hookah, cigar or cigarillo, smokeless tobacco, nicotine pouch.