10.2. SR 09-08-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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E-cigarettes: an evidence update 87 example, much has been made of the increase in EC observed in the US using the cross-sectional Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) National Youth Tobacco Surveys [161-163].These reports and press coverage have been heavily criticised [164-166]. The most important feature of the NYTS data was the fall in smoking prevalence over the same period (as observed in the UK, France [167] and elsewhere). The CDC findings indicated that past 30-day use of EC increased among middle and high school students. For example, the 2014 data indicated that among high school students use increased from 4.5% to 13.4% between 2013 and 2014. Among middle school students, current EC use increased from 1.1% in 2013 to 3.9% in 2014. However, cigarette smoking had continued to decline during this period (high school students: 15.8% to 9.2%; middle school students: 4.7 % to 2.5%) such that smoking was at a 22-year low in the US. These findings strongly suggest that EC use is not encouraging uptake of cigarette smoking. Whilst most of the recent studies examining youth EC use emanated from North America, the common pattern emerging worldwide is of a very high awareness of EC and an increase in trial of these products among young people [168-178]. Nevertheless, estimates of prevalence of current use of EC vary widely with the highest being reported in Poland at around 30% [174] and Hawaii (29% tried, 18% current) [178]. Most other estimates indicate that a very small minority of youth, less than 3%, currently or recently used EC. Whilst EC experimentation is increasing, regular or current use of EC appears to be largely concentrated in those already smoking conventional cigarettes. The most recent Europe-wide data indicated that 1.1% of never-smokers aged 15 and above had ever tried an EC [158]. Yet little research has focused on how EC are being used among young people, with limited qualitative research studies in this area [179, 180]. Other findings relate to the influence of parents who smoke on EC experimentation in youth [eg [170] and associations between EC experimentation and other substance use [eg [170, 181]. Several studies have also found an association between EC use and openness to cigarette smoking [eg [182] or intentions to smoke cigarettes [eg [168]. The cases of Australia and Canada Australia has applied existing laws on poisons, therapeutic goods, and tobacco products to EC. Very broadly speaking, the current laws in Australia have resulted in a ban on the sale and importation of EC with nicotine (although there is a mechanism for legal import as an unapproved medicine with a doctor’s prescription). There are no national level prevalence data on EC use in Australia available at this time. One study comparing trends in awareness, trial, and use of EC among nationally representative samples of smokers and ex-smokers (use defined as less than monthly or more often) in Australia and the UK in 2010 and 2013 found reported EC use in Australia in 2013 at 6.6% and use in the UK at 18.8% [183]. Although the use of EC was found to be