Nicotine dependence among undergraduates who use nicotine salt-based e-cigarettes.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the relationship between use patterns of a popular e-cigarette brand using nicotine salts, JUUL, and symptoms of nicotine dependence in a college cohort.

PARTICIPANTS

Data for this study came from a prospective cohort of undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university from 2018 to 2019.

METHODS

Among participants who had ever tried a JUUL (N = 411), univariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to test the associations between use frequency (past 30-day use) and quantity (time to finish a pod) and nicotine dependence at follow up.

RESULTS

In the multivariable models, both frequency of use and quantity of use were associated with subsequent nicotine dependence, based on most indicators of dependence.

CONCLUSIONS

As salt-based nicotine is now present in the most popular e-cigarette brands used by young people, such findings inform our contemporary understanding of e-cigarettes' addictive potential and can help inform campus-based interventions.