Table 3. Reasons Why It Is Easier or Harder to Access Products Since the COVID-19 Pandemic Begana.
| Characteristic (No. of responses) | No. (%) | Unadjusted OR (95% CI) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total sample (n = 2167) | Underage youth [<21] (n = 1442) | Young adults [≥21] (n = 725) | ||
| Reasons why it is hard to get e-cigarettes (n = 1939) | ||||
| I cannot go to a grocery store or gas station | 557 (28.7) | 371 (29.1) | 186 (28.0) | 1.05 (0.85-1.29) |
| Longer shipping times | 412 (21.2) | 236 (18.5) | 176 (26.5) | 0.62 (0.50-0.78)b |
| I cannot go to the vape shop | 377 (19.4) | 274 (21.5) | 103 (15.5) | 1.49 (1.16-1.91)b |
| My product is not available online | 250 (12.9) | 151 (11.8) | 99 (14.9) | 0.76 (0.58-1.01)b |
| It is more expensive | 177 (9.1) | 113 (8.9) | 64 (9.6) | 0.91 (0.66-1.25) |
| Restrictions on number of products I can buy | 166 (8.7) | 130 (10.2) | 36 (5.5) | 1.98 (1.35-2.90)b |
| Reasons why it is easy to get e-cigarettes (n = 261) | ||||
| Vape shop/dealer delivers it to me directly | 90 (34.5) | 38 (33.0) | 52 (35.6) | 0.89 (0.53-1.49) |
| Vape shop/dealer delivers it to my friend directly | 53 (20.3) | 24 (20.9) | 29 (19.9) | 1.06 (0.58-1.95) |
| I switched to buying it online | 51 (19.5) | 21 (18.3) | 30 (20.5) | 0.86 (0.46-1.60) |
| It is cheaper than before due to promotions | 51 (19.5) | 27 (23.5) | 24 (16.4) | 1.56 (0.84-2.88) |
| I use my parents’ vape | 16 (6.2) | 5 (4.3) | 11 (7.6) | 0.55 (0.18-1.65) |
Abbreviations: COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; OR, odds ratio.
a
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: reasons why it is hard to get e-cigarettes (1275 underage vs 664 young adults) and reasons why is it easy to get e-cigarettes (115 underage vs 146 young adults).
b
Statistically significant at P < .05.