Exposure to e-cigarette advertising, attitudes, and use susceptibility in adolescents who had never used e-cigarettes or cigarettes.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Tobacco advertisements have been banned in Hong Kong, but low intensity e-cigarette (EC) advertising can still be found in various media outlets. We investigated the associations between exposure to EC advertising and susceptibility to EC use in adolescents who had never used cigarettes or ECs, with potential mediation by attitudes towards ECs and the tobacco industry. METHODS:The School-based Smoking Survey 2016/17 assessed exposure to EC advertising in the past 30?days, attitudes towards ECs and the tobacco industry, susceptibility to EC use, and other covariates. Generalised linear mixed models and multiple mediation analysis methods were used in data analyses. RESULTS:Among 7082 students (mean age 14.9?years), 28.8% reported exposure to EC advertising. Exposure was associated with being uncertain about the harm of EC use, being tolerant towards ECs, believing the tobacco industry is respectable, and being susceptible to EC use; the magnitudes of these associations increased with the number of types of advertising exposed (0, 1, and???2) (all p-values

SUBMITTER: Wang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7650221 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature