How do we prevent teens from using e-cigarettes?

Sherri Katz 2018 head shot

In September 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned e-cigarette companies about teenage use that's reached an “epidemic proportion.” Assistant Professor Sherri Jean Katz has been studying e-cigarette warning labels since 2015; and in 2017 she was awarded  
a two-year, $150,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health/NIDA (R03 DA043022) for her project, "E-cigarettes warning labels: Tests of messages to reduce recreational use among adolescents.”

While e-cigarettes are often used by adult smokers to help them quit traditional cigarettes, they can be harm-elevating when used recreationally by non-smoking youth. The focus of this study is on how the language used on e-cigarette warning statements influences risk perceptions among teenagers. Katz and her collaborators have conducted an experiment with 715 high school students in the greater Twin Cities area. The team compared perceptions of different label conditions to one another, independently and in the context of other package elements, such as flavors and modified risk statements. Katz and her collaborators have also conducted an experiment with 240 college students using an eyetracker, and two focus group studies with college students.

“With traditional cigarettes, the message is clear – don’t smoke. E-cigarettes require a more nuanced message," said Katz. “What is really interesting is that we see a very big difference between those teens who have tried an e-cigarette even once and those who have never tried one. For example, in our study of high school youth in the Twin Cities area, we found that 60 percent of “triers” agree or strongly agree that e-cigarettes are fun to try, while less than 5 percent of “non-triers” fell into these categories. And, almost half of “triers” expect to use an e-cigarette again soon, while only 1.5 percent of “non-triers” said they probably would use one soon.

E-cigarettes require a complex message strategy. “The challenge is to discourage recreational use, without discouraging existing adult smokers from making a complete switch from traditional cigarettes," she said.