5 New Estimates on E-Cigarette Use

A new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers the first estimates of e-cigarette use among US adults.

The study data was collected through the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) by interviewers from the US Census Bureau. The survey, conducted in 2014, involved 36,697 adults.

Here are 5 new findings from the CDC report:

1.Young adults are trying e-cigarettes more than any other age group.

The 18-24 age group had the highest percentage of adults who had ever tried an e-cigarette in their lifetime at 21.6%, according to the CDC study.

The percentage fell more and more for older age groups: 25-44 years (16.6%), 45-64 years (10.2%), and 65 and older (3.7%).

2.Current or recent cigarette smokers are more likely to use e-cigarettes.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the researchers found that current cigarette smokers and those who recently quit smoking were more likely to use e-cigarettes than individuals who quit smoking more than a year ago or adults who had never smoked.

Around 1 in 6 adults who smoke currently use e-cigarettes, and nearly 1 in 4 recent former smokers use e-cigarettes.

In addition, cigarette smokers who have tried to quit in the past year were more likely to use e-cigarettes than those who had not tried to quit.

3.Few adults use e-cigarettes every day.

The study found that 3.7% of US adults use e-cigarettes every day or some days. Meanwhile, 12.6% of adults have tried an e-cigarette at least once.

4. Men are more likely to experiment with e-cigarettes.

The researchers found that men were more likely than women to have ever tried an e-cigarette. However, they also found that there was not a significant gender difference in current e-cigarette use.

5. Very few non-smokers are picking up e-cigarettes.

Only 3.2% of adults who had never smoked cigarettes have tried an e-cigarette. In addition, 0.4% of adults who never had a history of smoking cigarettes currently use e-cigarettes.

Breaking the data down by age group, 9.7% of non-smokers age 18-24 had tried an e-cigarette, followed by 3.5% of those ages 25-44, 1.2% of those ages 45-64, and 0.2% of those ages 65 and older, the researchers found.

The CDC considered nonsmokers to be adults who had not smoked 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.

A NPR-Truven Health Analytics Health Poll recently found that 57% of adults believe the FDA should regulate e-cigarettes like tobacco products.

Those who were older and had more education were more likely to want regulation, according to the poll.

In late April 2014, the FDA proposed a rule that would allow for regulation over not just e-cigarettes, but also cigars, pipe tobacco, nicotine gels, and hookah tobacco.

The rule would require manufacturers to register with the FDA and report product ingredients. The companies would also have to undergo a review by the FDA prior to marketing new products.