Table 2. Changes in e-Cigarette Use Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic Begana.
| Characteristic (No. of responses) | No. (%) | Unadjusted OR (95% CI)b | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total sample (n = 2167) | Underage youth (age <21 y) (n = 1442) | Young adults (age ≥21 y) (n = 725) | ||
| Participants reporting any change in the amount of e-cigarette use since COVID-19 (n = 2125) | 1198 (56.4) | 776 (55.1) | 422 (58.9) | 0.85 (0.71-1.02) |
| Type of change since COVID-19 (n = 1197) | ||||
| Quit using e-cigarettes | 388 (32.4) | 283 (36.5) | 105 (24.9) | 1.72 (1.32-2.25)b |
| Reduced the amount by half | 232 (19.4) | 143 (18.4) | 89 (21.1) | 0.84 (0.62-1.13) |
| Reduced slightly | 190 (15.9) | 96 (12.4) | 94 (22.3) | 0.49 (0.35-0.67)b |
| Increased amount of nicotine in e-cigarettes | 211 (17.6) | 129 (16.6) | 82 (19.6) | 0.82 (0.60-1.11) |
| Increased amount of cannabis/THC | 94 (7.8) | 65 (8.4) | 29 (6.9) | 1.23 (0.78-1.94) |
| Switched from e-cigarette use to other forms of nicotine | 27 (2.3) | 17 (2.2) | 10 (2.4) | 0.92 (0.41-2.02) |
| Combustible cigarettes | 10 (37.0) | 8 (47.1) | 2 (20.0) | |
| Nicotine patches or gum | 16 (59.2) | 8 (47.1) | 8 (80.0) | |
| Other | 1 (3.8) | 1 (5.8) | 0 | |
| Switched from using cannabis/THC in e-cigarettes to other products | 55 (4.6) | 43 (5.5) | 12 (2.8) | 1.99 (1.04-3.83)b |
| Smoked cannabis | 24 (43.6) | 18 (41.9) | 6 (50.0) | |
| Edible cannabis | 12 (21.8) | 9 (20.9) | 3 (25.1) | |
| Blunts | 11 (20.0) | 10 (23.4) | 1 (8.3) | |
| Combustible cigarettes | 4 (7.3) | 3 (6.9) | 1 (8.3) | |
| Other | 4 (7.3) | 3 (6.9) | 1 (8.3) | |
| Nicotine strength before and after COVID-19 (n = 1714) | ||||
| No change | 813 (47.4) | 539 (46.2) | 274 (50.1) | 0.85 (0.69-1.04) |
| Reduced nicotine strength | 262 (15.3) | 163 (14.0) | 99 (18.1) | 0.73 (0.55-0.96) |
| Increased nicotine strength | 170 (9.9) | 99 (8.5) | 71 (13.0) | 0.62 (0.45-0.85)b |
| Did not know before or since COVID-19 | 300 (17.5) | 233 (20.0) | 67 (12.2) | 1.78 (1.33-2.39)b |
| Knew nicotine strength before COVID-19 and do not know since | 140 (8.2) | 110 (9.3) | 30 (5.5) | 1.79 (1.18-2.72)b |
| Did not know nicotine strength before COVID-19 and now know | 29 (1.7) | 23 (2.0) | 6 (1.1) | 1.81 (0.73-4.47) |
| Time taken to finish a pod or e-cigarette before and after COVID-19 (n = 1840) | ||||
| No change | 572 (31.1) | 370 (29.7) | 202 (34.1) | 0.81 (0.66-1.01) |
| Taking less time to finish | 348 (18.9) | 230 (18.4) | 118 (19.9) | 0.91 (0.71-1.16) |
| Taking more time to finish | 316 (17.2) | 181 (14.5) | 135 (22.8) | 0.57 (0.44-0.73)b |
| Did not know before or since COVID-19 | 386 (20.9) | 296 (23.7) | 90 (15.2) | 1.73 (1.34-2.25)b |
| Do not know since COVID-19 | 207 (11.3) | 164 (13.2) | 43 (7.2) | 1.93 (1.36-2.75)b |
| Did not know how much was used before COVID-19 and now know | 11 (0.6) | 6 (0.5) | 5 (0.8) | 0.56 (0.17-1.87) |
| Reasons for decreased e-cigarette use after COVID-19 (n = 895) | ||||
| At home and parents will know | 136 (15.2) | 80 (13.7) | 56 (17.9) | 0.72 (0.50-1.05) |
| Cannot get products | 175 (19.5) | 102 (17.5) | 73 (23.4) | 0.69 (0.49-0.97)b |
| e-Cigarettes may weaken the lungs | 224 (25.0) | 132 (22.7) | 92 (29.5) | 0.69 (0.51-0.95)b |
| Any combination of ≥2 reasons above | 287 (32.1) | 213 (36.5) | 74 (23.7) | 1.85 (1.35-2.52)b |
| Other | 73 (8.2) | 56 (9.6) | 17 (5.5) | 1.84 (1.05-3.23)b |
| Reasons for increasing the amount of nicotine/cannabis in e-cigarettes after COVID-19 (n = 421) | ||||
| Bored | 88 (20.9) | 65 (24.5) | 23 (14.8) | 1.85 (1.09-3.13)b |
| Stressed | 83 (19.7) | 40 (15.0) | 43 (27.8) | 0.46 (0.28-0.74)b |
| Need a distraction | 35 (8.3) | 19 (7.1) | 16 (10.4) | 0.66 (0.33-1.34) |
| Any combination of ≥2 reasons above | 201 (47.7) | 131 (49.3) | 70 (45.1) | 1.17 (0.79-1.75) |
| Other | 14 (3.4) | 11 (4.1) | 3 (1.9) | 2.18 (0.60-7.95) |
Abbreviations: COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; OR, odds ratio; THC, tetrahydrocannabinol.
Owing to missing data in our sample, percentages were calculated using the number of responses as the denominator. Therefore, the denominators using the numbers of participants in the underage (<21 years) and young adult (≥21 years) cohorts for each characteristic are as follows: participants reporting any change in the amount of e-cigarette use since the COVID-19 pandemic began (1409 underage vs 716 young adults), type of change since the pandemic began (776 underage vs 421 young adults), nicotine strength since before and after the pandemic began (1167 underage vs 547 young adults), time taken to finish a pod or e-cigarette since before and after the pandemic began (1247 underage vs 593 young adult), reasons for decreased use after the pandemic began (583 underage vs 312 young adults), and reasons for increased use after the pandemic began (266 underage vs 155 young adults).
Statistically significant at P < .05.