Table 1.
Sample characteristics by e-cigarette purchase location in (a) Canada (n = 456); (b) the United States (n = 701); (c) England (n = 667); (d) Australia (n = 75).
| (a) | ||||
| Online | Vape Shop | Other Retail | Total | |
| N (row %) | N (row %) | N (row %) | N (col %) | |
| Smoking frequency | ||||
| Daily | 49 (13.8) | 139 (53.6) | 87 (32.6) | 275 (45.2) |
| Nondaily | 14 (10.6) | 79 (67.2) | 23 (22.2) | 116 (16.9) |
| Not at all | 6 (11.4) | 54 (78.5) | 5 (10.2) | 65 (37.9) |
| Vaping frequency | ||||
| Daily | 37 (10.9) | 152 (72.8) | 51 (16.3) | 240 (59.4) |
| Nondaily | 32 (14.4) | 120 (54.4) | 64 (31.2) | 216 (40.6) |
| Been vaping for | ||||
| Less than 1 month | 3 (9.2) | 16 (75.9) | 6 (15) | 25 (5.5) |
| 1–3 months | 9 (9.3) | 39 (65.9) | 17 (24.8) | 65 (11.5) |
| >3 months | 55 (12.6) | 217 (64.8) | 92 (22.6) | 364 (82.7) |
| No answer | 2 (100) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (0.3) |
| Age | ||||
| 18–24 | 18 (14.6) | 58 (61.5) | 27 (23.9) | 103 (15.4) |
| 25–39 | 29 (19.9) | 100 (58.8) | 36 (21.3) | 165 (30.3) |
| 40–45 | 19 (9.0) | 84 (69.1) | 38 (21.9) | 141 (38.6) |
| 55+ | 3 (3.8) | 30 (72.3) | 14 (23.9) | 47 (15.7) |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 29 (11.1) | 131 (71.2) | 47 (17.7) | 207 (46.5) |
| Male | 40 (13.4) | 141 (60.2) | 68 (26.4) | 249 (53.5) |
| Race | ||||
| White | 43 (10.1) | 227 (67.4) | 89 (22.5) | 359 (86) |
| Nonwhite | 26 (26.4) | 43 (51.7) | 26 (21.8) | 95 (13.8) |
| Refused | 0 (0) | 2 (100) | 0 (0) | 2 (0.2) |
| Don’t know | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) (0) |
| Household Income | ||||
| Low | 13 (15.6) | 53 (61.7) | 25 (22.6) | 91 (18.7) |
| Moderate | 20 (8.2) | 81 (67.5) | 34 (24.3) | 135 (29.3) |
| High | 36 (15.4) | 116 (62.9) | 50 (21.7) | 202 (45.5) |
| No answer | 0 (0) | 22 (82.6) | 6 (17.4) | 28 (6.5) |
| Educational level | ||||
| Low | 10 (4.9) | 81 (69.2) | 31 (26) | 122 (30) |
| Moderate | 27 (10.2) | 120 (71) | 42 (18.7) | 189 (45.2) |
| High | 32 (25.4) | 69 (49.7) | 42 (24.8) | 143 (24.5) |
| No answer | 0 (0) | 2 (100) | 0 (0) | 2 (0.3) |
| E-liquid flavor | ||||
| Tobacco flavor | 16 (10.7) | 59 (64.2) | 33 (25) | 108 (22.3) |
| Menthol or mint | 6 (4.9) | 38 (53.9) | 18 (41.3) | 62 (15.2) |
| Fruit flavor | 22 (17.2) | 89 (68.3) | 27 (14.5) | 138 (31) |
| Candy, desserts, sweets | 5 (4.6) | 45 (82.2) | 9 (13.2) | 59 (12.2) |
| Other | 20 (17) | 41 (60.2) | 28 (22.7) | 89 (19.3) |
| E-liquid containing nicotine | ||||
| No | 2 (2.6) | 14 (71.9) | 8 (25.4) | 24 (7.8) |
| Yes | 65 (12.4) | 254 (65.5) | 105 (22.2) | 424 (90.3) |
| Refused | 0 (0) | 1 (100) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.1) |
| Don’t know | 2 (52.8) | 3 (26.5) | 2 (20.7) | 7 (1.8) |
| Product type | ||||
| Disposable | 9 (13.1) | 12 (17.4) | 40 (69.4) | 61 (13.2) |
| Cartridge | 24 (15.2) | 61 (61) | 32 (23.8) | 117 (19.1) |
| Tank | 36 (11.4) | 199 (75.9) | 43 (12.7) | 278 (67.6) |
| Product power modifiability | ||||
| Missing | 9 (13.1) | 12 (17.4) | 40 (69.4) | 61 (13.2) |
| Power not adjustable | 13 (9.9) | 62 (72.6) | 21 (17.5) | 96 (22) |
| Power adjustable but I don’t change it | 23 (16.2) | 78 (65.1) | 27 (18.8) | 128 (26.6) |
| Power adjustable and I change it | 23 (10.9) | 110 (77.1) | 26 (12) | 159 (35.1) |
| Don’t know | 1 (9.7) | 10 (86.2) | 1 (4.1) | 12 (3.1) |
| Total | 69 (12.3) | 272 (65.3) | 115 (22.4) | 456 |
| (b) | ||||
| Online | Vape Shop | Other Retail | Total | |
| N (row %) | N (row %) | N (row %) | N (col %) | |
| Smoking frequency | ||||
| Daily | 107 (23.4) | 168 (36.8) | 190 (39.7) | 465 (40.1) |
| Nondaily | 33 (28.7) | 61 (48.9) | 38 (22.4) | 132 (13.2) |
| Not at all | 22 (29.2) | 52 (47.3) | 30 (23.5) | 104 (46.7) |
| Vaping frequency | ||||
| Daily | 111 (27.7) | 198 (45.6) | 159 (26.8) | 468 (78.2) |
| Nondaily | 51 (23.7) | 83 (35.3) | 99 (40.9) | 233 (21.8) |
| Been vaping for | ||||
| Less than 1 month | 27 (22.2) | 30 (53.4) | 43 (24.4) | 100 (13.2) |
| 1–3 months | 14 (10.4) | 32 (35.5) | 34 (54) | 80 (7.1) |
| >3 months | 120 (29.0) | 219 (42.5) | 178 (28.5) | 517 (79.4) |
| No answer | 1 (44.5) | 0 (0) | 3 (55.5) | 4 (0.3) |
| Age | ||||
| 18–24 | 33 (27.8) | 71 (48.2) | 65 (24) | 169 (16) |
| 25–39 | 78 (24.4) | 120 (43.9) | 120 (31.7) | 318 (33.4) |
| 40–45 | 28 (29) | 36 (40.8) | 30 (30.2) | 94 (27) |
| 55+ | 23 (27) | 54 (42.2) | 43 (30.8) | 120 (23.5) |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 70 (26.3) | 124 (45.8) | 94 (27.9) | 288 (42.4) |
| Male | 92 (27.2) | 157 (41.5) | 164 (31.3) | 413 (57.6) |
| Race | ||||
| White | 128 (27.3) | 236 (44.5) | 203 (28.2) | 567 (89.8) |
| Nonwhite | 34 (22.5) | 43 (32.8) | 55 (44.7) | 132 (10.1) |
| Refused | 0 (0) | 2 (100) | 0 (0) | 2 (0.1) |
| Don’t know | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) (0) |
| Household Income | ||||
| Low | 31 (31.3) | 58 (43.3) | 55 (25.5) | 144 (32.8) |
| Moderate | 36 (19) | 74 (43.7) | 54 (37.3) | 164 (23.5) |
| High | 95 (28.5) | 145 (42.2) | 146 (29.2) | 386 (42.3) |
| No answer | 0 ((.)) | 4 (72.1) | 3 (27.9) | 7 (1.3) |
| Educational level | ||||
| Low | 43 (33.8) | 72 (41.8) | 55 (24.4) | 170 (46) |
| Moderate | 43 (24.6) | 86 (46.9) | 65 (28.6) | 194 (26.4) |
| High | 76 (17.3) | 123 (42.5) | 138 (40.2) | 337 (27.6) |
| No answer | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) (0) |
| E-liquid flavor | ||||
| Tobacco flavor | 44 (30.4) | 48 (28.5) | 82 (41.1) | 174 (26.1) |
| Menthol or mint | 24 (18.2) | 58 (38.6) | 57 (43.3) | 139 (14) |
| Fruit flavor | 29 (20.9) | 76 (55) | 46 (24) | 151 (29.3) |
| Candy, desserts, sweets | 15 (37.7) | 35 (53.5) | 10 (8.8) | 60 (13.9) |
| Other | 50 (29.7) | 64 (41.5) | 63 (28.8) | 177 (16.7) |
| E-liquid containing nicotine | ||||
| No | 5 (47.8) | 12 (49.9) | 2 (2.3) | 19 (3.3) |
| Yes | 156 (27.6) | 263 (45.1) | 231 (27.3) | 650 (90.2) |
| Refused | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (100) | 1 (0) |
| Don’t know | 1 (5.3) | 6 (16.5) | 24 (78.2) | 31 (6.5) |
| Product type | ||||
| Disposable | 35 (34.9) | 21 (19) | 60 (46.2) | 116 (11) |
| Cartridge | 55 (24.6) | 77 (16.7) | 148 (58.7) | 280 (29.6) |
| Tank | 72 (26.4) | 183 (61.1) | 50 (12.5) | 305 (59.4) |
| Product power modifiability | ||||
| Missing | 35 (34.9) | 21 (19) | 60 (46.2) | 116 (11) |
| Power not adjustable | 26 (23.8) | 45 (29.8) | 67 (46.4) | 138 (29.1) |
| Power adjustable but I don’t change it | 38 (20.7) | 73 (63.4) | 46 (15.9) | 157 (19.4) |
| Power adjustable and I change it | 61 (29.9) | 140 (50.4) | 79 (19.7) | 280 (39.7) |
| Don’t know | 2 (19.4) | 2 (30.6) | 6 (50) | 10 (0.8) |
| Total | 162 (26.8) | 281 (43.3) | 258 (29.9) | 701 |
| (c) | ||||
| Online | Vape Shop | Other Retail | Total | |
| N (row %) | N (row %) | N (row %) | N (col %) | |
| Smoking frequency | ||||
| Daily | 100 (26.2) | 124 (31.3) | 130 (42.5) | 354 (23.7) |
| Nondaily | 55 (23.3) | 61 (40.7) | 58 (36) | 174 (12.5) |
| Not at all | 52 (36) | 40 (27.7) | 47 (36.3) | 139 (63.8) |
| Vaping frequency | ||||
| Daily | 157 (33.6) | 160 (29.9) | 160 (36.6) | 477 (86) |
| Nondaily | 50 (23) | 65 (32.1) | 75 (45) | 190 (14) |
| Been vaping for | ||||
| Less than 1 month | 13 (39.2) | 11 (37.6) | 11 (23.3) | 35 (3.3) |
| 1–3 months | 23 (43) | 30 (17.5) | 30 (39.5) | 83 (10.7) |
| >3 months | 171 (30.6) | 183 (31.2) | 194 (38.2) | 548 (85.8) |
| No answer | 0 (0) | 1 (100) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.3) |
| Age | ||||
| 18–24 | 61 (22) | 80 (56.2) | 54 (21.8) | 195 (7.1) |
| 25–39 | 49 (26.1) | 61 (32.7) | 73 (41.2) | 183 (25.6) |
| 40–45 | 37 (34.5) | 37 (26.1) | 47 (39.3) | 121 (29) |
| 55+ | 60 (36.2) | 47 (26.7) | 61 (37.1) | 168 (38.3) |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 77 (30.8) | 79 (33.7) | 80 (35.5) | 236 (48) |
| Male | 130 (33.3) | 146 (26.9) | 155 (39.8) | 431 (52) |
| Race | ||||
| White | 176 (31) | 198 (30.2) | 213 (38.9) | 587 (92.1) |
| Nonwhite | 24 (49.4) | 21 (18.2) | 18 (32.3) | 63 (5.2) |
| Refused | 1 (17.3) | 2 (68) | 2 (14.7) | 5 (1.2) |
| Don’t know | 6 (54.9) | 4 (41.7) | 2 (3.4) | 12 (1.5) |
| Household Income | ||||
| Low | 26 (18.6) | 39 (32.3) | 62 (49) | 127 (17.3) |
| Moderate | 59 (30.7) | 62 (32.1) | 66 (37.2) | 187 (31.7) |
| High | 107 (37) | 106 (26.4) | 97 (36.7) | 310 (42.9) |
| No answer | 15 (40.7) | 18 (37.9) | 10 (21.3) | 43 (8.1) |
| Educational level | ||||
| Low | 41 (29.8) | 54 (35.3) | 48 (34.9) | 143 (19.9) |
| Moderate | 83 (29.7) | 87 (29.2) | 102 (41.1) | 272 (60.2) |
| High | 79 (48.2) | 81 (23.9) | 82 (27.9) | 242 (15.7) |
| No answer | 4 (18.1) | 3 (42.8) | 3 (39.1) | 10 (4.3) |
| E-liquid flavor | ||||
| Tobacco flavor | 69 (35.2) | 56 (23.2) | 82 (41.6) | 207 (33.8) |
| Menthol or mint | 38 (29.8) | 41 (20.5) | 53 (49.7) | 132 (26.7) |
| Fruit flavor | 58 (28.5) | 87 (50.6) | 51 (21) | 196 (26.1) |
| Candy, desserts, sweets | 9 (16.8) | 16 (29.8) | 13 (53.4) | 38 (3.9) |
| Other | 33 (43.9) | 25 (26.3) | 36 (29.9) | 94 (9.5) |
| E-liquid containing nicotine | ||||
| No | 7 (70) | 4 (18.5) | 3 (11.5) | 14 (3.2) |
| Yes | 193 (31.0) | 219 (31.0) | 217 (38.0) | 629 (94.6) |
| Refused | 2 (21.4) | 0 (0) | 2 (78.6) | 4 (0.4) |
| Don’t know | 5 (24.4) | 2 (14.2) | 13 (61.4) | 20 (1.8) |
| Product type | ||||
| Disposable | 19 (18.2) | 17 (21) | 34 (60.9) | 70 (4.2) |
| Cartridge | 67 (36.6) | 44 (12.2) | 83 (51.2) | 194 (20.7) |
| Tank | 121 (31.7) | 164 (35.6) | 118 (32.7) | 403 (75.1) |
| Product power modifiability | ||||
| Missing | 19 (18.2) | 17 (21) | 34 (60.9) | 70 (4.2) |
| Power not adjustable | 82 (33.5) | 66 (24.3) | 95 (42.1) | 243 (51.7) |
| Power adjustable but I don’t change it | 43 (32.3) | 55 (28.9) | 41 (38.8) | 139 (14.9) |
| Power adjustable and I change it | 57 (31) | 84 (43.1) | 59 (25.9) | 200 (27.6) |
| Don’t know | 6 (40.4) | 3 (31.3) | 6 (28.3) | 15 (1.6) |
| Total | 207 (32.1) | 225 (30.2) | 235 (37.7) | 667 |
| (d) | ||||
| Online | Vape Shop | Other Retail | Total | |
| N (row %) | N (row %) | N (row %) | N (col %) | |
| Smoking frequency | ||||
| Daily | 15 (44.3) | 6 (8.5) | 21 (47.2) | 42 (32.6) |
| Nondaily | 8 (73.8) | 0 (0) | 4 (26.2) | 12 (10.5) |
| Not at all | 15 (75.5) | 6 (24.5) | 0 (0) | 21 (57) |
| Vaping frequency | ||||
| Daily | 32 (67.9) | 12 (20.1) | 16 (12) | 60 (83) |
| Nondaily | 6 (52.1) | 0 (0) | 9 (47.9) | 15 (17) |
| Been vaping for | ||||
| Less than 1 month | 3 (63.6) | 1 (5.3) | 4 (31.1) | 8 (6.4) |
| 1–3 months | 3 (33.3) | 1 (7.5) | 7 (59.2) | 11 (12.6) |
| >3 months | 32 (86.6) | 10 (19.0) | 14 (10.7) | 56 (80.9) |
| No answer | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Age | ||||
| 18–24 | 1 (21.1) | 2 (71.3) | 1 (7.7) | 4 (10.6) |
| 25–39 | 12 (66.1) | 3 (14.2) | 7 (19.6) | 22 (40.8) |
| 40–45 | 17 (64.3) | 5 (9.2) | 13 (26.4) | 35 (27.5) |
| 55+ | 8 (86.6) | 2 (3.8) | 4 (9.6) | 14 (21.1) |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 7 (55.8) | 8 (30.7) | 11 (13.5) | 26 (42.2) |
| Male | 31 (72) | 4 (6.5) | 14 (21.5) | 49 (57.8) |
| Race | ||||
| White | 35 (70.8) | 8 (17.3) | 18 (11.9) | 61 (88.2) |
| Nonwhite | 3 (22.9) | 4 (12.5) | 7 (64.6) | 14 (11.8) |
| Refused | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) (0) |
| Don’t know | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) (0) |
| Household Income | ||||
| Low | 5 (80.1) | 0 (0) | 4 (19.9) | 9 (8.1) |
| Moderate | 7 (72.8) | 2 (11.2) | 6 (16) | 15 (28.9) |
| High | 26 (63.4) | 9 (21.9) | 14 (14.7) | 49 (59.5) |
| No answer | 0 (0) | 1 (13) | 1 (87) | 2 (3.6) |
| Educational level | ||||
| Low | 11 (66.1) | 3 (27) | 3 (6.9) | 17 (32.6) |
| Moderate | 12 (65.9) | 4 (11.5) | 10 (22.6) | 26 (43.8) |
| High | 15 (62.5) | 5 (12.1) | 12 (25.3) | 32 (23.6) |
| No answer | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) (0) |
| E-liquid flavor | ||||
| Tobacco flavor | 14 (72.8) | 1 (2.1) | 7 (25.1) | 22 (16.3) |
| Menthol or mint | 1 (36.1) | 2 (13) | 5 (51) | 8 (7.2) |
| Fruit flavor | 6 (40.2) | 3 (36.1) | 5 (23.7) | 14 (20) |
| Candy, desserts, sweets | 5 (66.3) | 2 (33.7) | 0 (0) | 7 (18.2) |
| Other | 12 (80) | 4 (5.4) | 8 (14.6) | 24 (38.3) |
| E-liquid containing nicotine | ||||
| No | 1 (8.1) | 1 (10.6) | 6 (81.3) | 8 (6.5) |
| Yes | 34 (68.6) | 11 (18.1) | 17 (13.3) | 62 (88.5) |
| Refused | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) (0) |
| Don’t know | 3 (78.5) | 0 (0) | 2 (21.5) | 5 (5) |
| Product type | ||||
| Disposable | 2 (10.3) | 0 (0) | 10 (89.7) | 12 (7.6) |
| Cartridge | 6 (40.2) | 4 (14.6) | 8 (45.2) | 18 (10.1) |
| Tank | 30 (73.2) | 8 (18.5) | 7 (8.3) | 45 (82.4) |
| Product power modifiability | ||||
| Missing | 2 (10.3) | 0 (0) | 10 (89.7) | 12 (7.6) |
| Power not adjustable | 11 (75.2) | 2 (3.1) | 9 (21.8) | 22 (33.7) |
| Power adjustable but I don’t change it | 8 (88) | 2 (9.6) | 1 (2.5) | 11 (10.2) |
| Power adjustable and I change it | 16 (61.3) | 8 (30.8) | 5 (7.9) | 29 (47.7) |
| Don’t know | 1 (100) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.9) |
| Total | 38 (65.2) | 12 (16.7) | 25 (18.1) | 75 |