Predictors of e-cigarette discontinuation among a US national cross-sectional sample of adults who currently smoke.
- 1School of Public Health, Georgia State UniversityAtlantaUnited States.
Abstract
Introduction
A substantial proportion of people who smoke cigarettes have used e-cigarettes to reduce or quit smoking. However, there are many transitions to either using both e-cigarettes and cigarettes, or returning to smoking cigarettes exclusively. Limited research has focused on this population. This study aims to examine whether e-cigarette characteristics, use patterns, and perceptions of e-cigarettes predict e-cigarette discontinuation among people who smoke cigarettes.Methods
Data were drawn from the Adult Consumers of Tobacco Study, a nationally representative cross-sectional study conducted in 2023. A total of 2644 US adults completed an online questionnaire. We conducted a secondary analysis of 1507 participants who currently smoked cigarettes and had previously used e-cigarettes or were currently using e-cigarettes at the time of the survey.Results
Use of two flavors (adjusted odds ratio, AOR=0.53; 95% CI: 0.37-0.75) and more than two flavors (AOR=0.42; 95% CI: 0.29-0.62) was associated with lower odds of e-cigarette discontinuation. Compared with tobacco flavor use, use of fruit flavor (AOR=0.58; 95% CI: 0.42-0.80) and candy, dessert, chocolate, or other sweet flavors (AOR=0.57; 95% CI: 0.41-0.79) was also associated with lower odds of e-cigarette discontinuation. Additionally, greater perceived absolute harm of e-cigarettes (somewhat vs not at all/slight harmful, AOR=2.00; 95% CI: 1.20-3.35; very/extremely vs not at all/slight harmful, AOR=4.25; 95% CI: 2.60-6.99) and greater perceived relative harm of e-cigarettes compared with conventional cigarettes (about the same level of harm vs much less/less harmful, AOR=2.60; 95% CI: 1.86-3.66, more/much more harmful vs much less/less harmful, AOR=3.45; 95% CI: 2.22-5.46) were associated with higher odds of e-cigarette discontinuation.Conclusions
Flavors were associated with e-cigarette continuation, and perceptions of e-cigarette harm were associated with e-cigarette discontinuation among people who smoke cigarettes. Additional studies are needed to provide stronger evidence regarding these associations.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026predictors,
title = {{Predictors of e-cigarette discontinuation among a US national cross-sectional sample of adults who currently smoke.}},
author = {Yufei Wang and Scott R Weaver and Jiapa Kutulike and Jidong Huang},
journal = {Tobacco induced diseases},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.18332/tid/224362},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923084},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Predictors of e-cigarette discontinuation among a US national cross-sectional sample of adults who currently smoke.
AU - Yufei Wang
AU - Scott R Weaver
AU - Jiapa Kutulike
AU - Jidong Huang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Tobacco induced diseases
DO - 10.18332/tid/224362
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923084
AB - Introduction A substantial proportion of people who smoke cigarettes have used e-cigarettes to reduce or quit smoking. However, there are many transitions to either using both e-cigarettes and cigarettes, or returning to smoking cigarettes exclusively. Limited research has focused on this population. This study aims to examine whether e-cigarette characteristics, use patterns, and perceptions of e-cigarettes predict e-cigarette discontinuation among people who smoke cigarettes.Methods Data were drawn from the Adult Consumers of Tobacco Study, a nationally representative cross-sectional study conducted in 2023. A total of 2644 US adults completed an online questionnaire. We conducted a secondary analysis of 1507 participants who currently smoked cigarettes and had previously used e-cigarettes or were currently using e-cigarettes at the time of the survey.Results Use of two flavors (adjusted odds ratio, AOR=0.53; 95% CI: 0.37-0.75) and more than two flavors (AOR=0.42; 95% CI: 0.29-0.62) was associated with lower odds of e-cigarette discontinuation. Compared with tobacco flavor use, use of fruit flavor (AOR=0.58; 95% CI: 0.42-0.80) and candy, dessert, chocolate, or other sweet flavors (AOR=0.57; 95% CI: 0.41-0.79) was also associated with lower odds of e-cigarette discontinuation. Additionally, greater perceived absolute harm of e-cigarettes (somewhat vs not at all/slight harmful, AOR=2.00; 95% CI: 1.20-3.35; very/extremely vs not at all/slight harmful, AOR=4.25; 95% CI: 2.60-6.99) and greater perceived relative harm of e-cigarettes compared with conventional cigarettes (about the same level of harm vs much less/less harmful, AOR=2.60; 95% CI: 1.86-3.66, more/much more harmful vs much less/less harmful, AOR=3.45; 95% CI: 2.22-5.46) were associated with higher odds of e-cigarette discontinuation.Conclusions Flavors were associated with e-cigarette continuation, and perceptions of e-cigarette harm were associated with e-cigarette discontinuation among people who smoke cigarettes. Additional studies are needed to provide stronger evidence regarding these associations.
SN - 2070-7266
SN - 1617-9625
ER -