Table 3.
E-cigarette use behaviour, reasons for use and perception of harmfulness of e-cigarettes in the University of Queensland (UQ) and New Zealand (NZ) students; by age group, gender and student type
| |
Age (years) | Gender | Student type | ||||||||||
| <25 n (%) |
≥25 n (%) |
Total | P value | Male n (%) |
Female n (%) |
Total | P value | International n (%) | Domestic n (%) |
Total | P value | ||
| UQ | Ever vaped | 752 (21.6) |
256 (19.6) |
1008 (21.1) |
0.115 | 518 (28.6) |
508 (16.4) |
1026 (20.9) |
<0.001 | 306 (18.9) |
720 (21.9) |
1026 (20.9) |
0.017 |
| Currently vaped* | 57 (1.6) |
32 (2.4) |
89 (1.8) |
0.065 | 66 (3.6) |
24 (0.8) |
90 (1.8) |
<0.001 | 26 (1.6) |
64 (1.9) |
90 (1.8) |
0.398 | |
| Vaped daily | 16 (0.5) |
18 (1.4) |
34 (0.7) |
0.001 | 27 (1.5) |
7 (0.2) |
34 (0.7) |
<0.001 | 12 (0.7) |
22 (0.7) |
34 (0.7) |
0.780 | |
| Used nicotine-containing e-liquid | 193 (34.0) |
111 (58.7) |
304 (40.2) |
<0.001 | 185 (47.0) |
124 (33.0) |
309 (40.1) |
<0.001 | 92 (40.7) |
217 (39.9) |
309 (40.1) |
0.833 | |
| Did not vape in indoor smoke-free spaces | 225 (93.0) |
58 (85.3) |
283 (91.3) |
0.047 | 168 (88.9) |
119 (95.2) |
287 (91.4) |
0.051 | 94 (94.0) |
193 (90.2) |
287 (91.4) |
0.261 | |
| Did not vape in outdoor smoke-free spaces | 210 (86.8) |
51 (75.0) |
261 (84.2) |
0.019 | 152 (80.4) |
113 (90.4) |
265 (84.4) |
0.017 | 86 (86.0) |
179 (83.6) |
265 (84.4) |
0.592 | |
| Vaped to quit smoking | 25 (3.9) |
33 (15.1) |
58 (6.7) |
<0.001 | 37 (8.6) |
22 (5.0) |
59 (6.8) |
0.033 | 21 (8.4) |
38 (6.1) |
59 (6.8) |
0.211 | |
| Vaped for enjoyment | 66 (10.3) |
23 (10.5) |
89 (10.3) |
0.931 | 59 (13.7) |
31 (7.0) |
90 (10.3) |
0.001 | 24 (9.6) |
66 (10.6) |
90 (10.3) |
0.686 | |
| Vaped out of curiosity | 550 (85.8) |
163 (74.4) |
713 (82.9) |
<0.001 | 335 (77.7) |
390 (88.0) |
725 (83.0) |
<0.001 | 204 (81.9) |
521 (83.4) |
725 (83.0) |
0.611 | |
| Perceived e-cigarettes to be less harmful than cigarettes | 1988 (75.0) |
608 (63.9) |
2596 (72.1) |
<0.001 | 1042 (75.3) |
1607 (69.6) |
2649 (71.7) |
<0.001 | 801 (65.3) |
1848 (74.9) |
2649 (71.7) |
<0.001 | |
| NZ | Ever vaped | 592 (39.8) |
93 (27.8) |
685 (37.6) |
<0.001 | 361 (47.6) |
325 (30.5) |
686 (37.6) |
<0.001 | 102 (21.5) |
578 (42.9) |
680 (37.3) |
<0.001 |
| Currently vaped* | 90 (5.9) |
29 (8.5) |
119 (6.4) |
0.079 | 70 (9.0) |
49 (4.5) |
119 (6.4) |
<0.001 | 18 (3.7) |
105 (7.7) |
123 (6.7) |
0.003 | |
| Vaped daily | 24 (1.6) |
23 (6.8) |
47 (2.5) |
<0.001 | 32 (4.1) |
14 (1.3) |
46 (2.5) |
<0.001 | 7 (1.5) |
42 (3.1) |
49 (2.7) |
0.057 | |
| Used nicotine-containing e-liquid | 33 (70.2) |
28 (96.6) |
61 (80.3) |
0.005 | 44 (84.6) |
17 (70.8) |
61 (80.3) |
0.161 | 10 (71.4) |
51 (79.7) |
61 (78.2) |
0.498 | |
| Did not vape in indoor smoke-free spaces | 218 (80.1) |
39 (76.5) |
257 (79.6) |
0.550 | 140 (78.7) |
117 (80.7) |
257 (79.6) |
0.651 | 34 (70.8) |
217 (78.1) |
251 (77.0) |
0.272 | |
| Did not vape in outdoor smoke-free spaces | 197 (73.2) |
32 (62.7) |
229 (71.6) |
0.128 | 126 (72.0) |
102 (70.3) |
228 (71.3) |
0.745 | 30 (62.5) |
202 (73.2) |
232 (71.6) |
0.130 | |
| Vaped to quit smoking | 10 (2.4) |
21 (29.2) |
31 (6.2) |
<0.001 | 19 (7.1) |
12 (5.2) |
31 (6.2) |
0.401 | 3 (4.3) |
30 (6.8) |
33 (6.4) |
0.428 | |
| Vaped for enjoyment | 63 (14.8) |
3 (4.2)† |
66 (13.3) |
0.014 | 39 (14.6) |
28 (12.2) |
67 (13.5) |
0.438 | 11 (15.7) |
57 (12.9) |
68 (13.3) |
0.519 | |
| Vaped out of curiosity | 286 (67.3) |
31 (43.1) |
317 (63.8) |
<0.001 | 164 (61.2) |
153 (66.8) |
317 (63.8) |
0.194 | 37 (52.9) |
290 (65.6) |
327 (63.9) |
0.039 | |
| Perceived e-cigarettes to be less harmful than cigarettes | 818 (76.4) |
164 (70.4) |
982 (75.3) |
0.055 | 434 (79.6) |
549 (72.2) |
983 (75.3) |
0.002 | 187 (60.5) |
811 (80.6) |
998 (75.9) |
<0.001 | |
*Includes respondents who exclusively vaped and those who may have also smoked but did not meet criteria for current smoking.
†Expected cell count less than five.