25239961

PMC4512831

CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States

CDC Public Access

Introduction

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) marketing has increased considerably since the product entered the US market in 2007, thereby warranting additional surveillance to monitor recent trends in population-level awareness and utilization. We assessed the prevalence, characteristics, and trends in e-cigarette awareness and use among nationally representative samples of US adults during 2010–2013.

Methods

Data came from the 2010–2013 HealthStyles survey, an annual consumer-based web survey of US adults aged ≥18 years. Sample sizes ranged from 2,505 (2010) to 4,170 (2012). Descriptive statistics were used to assess e-cigarette awareness, ever use, and current use (use within the past 30 days) overall and by sex, age, race/ethnicity, education, income, US region, and cigarette smoking status. Trends were assessed using logistic regression.

Results

During 2010–2013, increases (p < .05) were observed for e-cigarette awareness (40.9%–79.7%), ever use (3.3%–8.5%), and current use (1.0%–2.6%). Awareness increased among all sociodemographic subpopulations during 2010–2013 (p < .05); an increase in ever use of e-cigarettes occurred among all sociodemographic groups except those aged 18–24 years, Hispanics, and those living in the Midwest (p < .05). During 2010–2013, ever use increased among current (9.8%–36.5%) and former (2.5%–9.6%) cigarette smokers (p < .05), but it remained unchanged among never smokers (1.3%–1.2%).

Conclusions

Awareness and use of e-cigarettes increased considerably among US adults during 2010–2013. In 2013, more than one-third of current cigarette smokers reported having ever used e-cigarettes. Given the uncertain public health impact of e-cigarettes, continued surveillance of emerging use patterns is critical for public health planning.