Retail Access to E-cigarettes and Frequency of E-cigarette Use in High School Students

Objective: Enforcement of e-cigarette retail access laws is a critical component in preventing adolescent e-cigarette use. However, youth frequently report purchasing e-cigarettes from retail outlets. The current study examines the relationship between retail access to e-cigarettes and e-cigarette use among youth to inform the development and enforcement of tobacco retail access laws. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Participants were 1217 e-cigarette users under the age of 18. E-cigarette use was categorized into infrequent (1-2 days per month),light (3-9 days per month), moderate (10-29 days per month), and daily (30 days per month) use. Retail access was defined as primarily acquiring e-cigarettes from in-person or online retailers. Multivariate logistic regression models assessed the association between retail access to e-cigarettes and e-cigarette use. Covariates included socio-demographics, past 30-day tobacco and marijuana use. Results: Overall, 19.8% of all past 30-day e-cigarette users reported retail access to e-cigarettes. Moderate (RRR: 2.11) and daily (RRR: 5.81) e-cigarette users had greater odds of retail access relative to infrequent e-cigarette users, adjusting for covariates. Conclusion: Retail access to e-cigarettes among youth is associated with moderate and daily e-cigarette use. Findings indicate the need for greater enforcement of retail access laws.