Advertising exposure and use of e-cigarettes among female current and former tobacco users of childbearing age.
Kristin Ashford, Emily Rayens, Amanda T Wiggins and 3 others
PMID 28485553WHAT IT FOUND
Pregnancy status was not linked to having used e-cigarettes among women of childbearing age who had used tobacco.
Greater exposure to e-cigarette advertising was linked to having used them, so ask both pregnant and nonpregnant patients.
Key findings
01Pregnancy status was not associated with ever e-cigarette use.
02For each 10-point increase in exposure to e-cigarette advertising, participants were 50% more likely to be ever e-cigarette users.
03Flavored e-cigarette use was associated with younger age and greater social media advertising exposure.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot show that advertising caused e-cigarette use. Participants were recruited from clinics in Kentucky using quota sampling, so results may not apply to other populations. Tobacco use was self-reported and not biochemically verified. Other tobacco products were not recorded. The advertising exposure questions asked about stories or information, not only advertisements. Six participants were omitted from the e-cigarette analysis, and the final analysed number is not stated.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the advertising association as proof that e-cigarette advertising caused e-cigarette use. The paper states the cross-sectional design cannot show cause and effect.