E-cigarette use patterns, brand preference and knowledge about vaping among teenagers (13-16 years) and parents of children attending Christchurch Hospital.

AIM: Parents attending hospital with children in New Zealand are routinely asked about tobacco use, but information about vaping is lacking. We assessed e-cigarette use, brand preferences, and knowledge during paediatric outpatient attendance at Christchurch Hospital.

METHOD: We undertook an anonymous online survey of teenagers and parents attending paediatric outpatient clinic in December 2021 to February 2022. The sample (n=95) were 16% Māori and 8.4% currently smoked (4.8% teenagers, 11.3% parents). We used descriptive and contingency table analysis.

RESULTS

Ever vaping was reported in 33.3% of teenagers and 30.8% of parents, and current use in 7.1% vs 15.1%, respectively. Most teenagers selected "curiosity/just wanted to try them" as their reason for vaping, whereas parents selected vaping to quit or reduce/avoid smoking. More teenagers than parents used nicotine-containing e-cigarettes (100% vs 86.7%) and more parents vaped indoors (in home or car) when other people were present. The most important reasons for choosing particular e-cigarette brands among teenagers were price and flavours, with fruit flavours preferred. No teenagers obtained their e-cigarettes from vape shops versus 40% of parents. The primary source of information about vaping for teenagers and parents was friends/peers.

CONCLUSION

Vaping was common among teenagers and parents; teenagers vaped for curiosity and flavours and obtained vape products from sources other than vape shops.