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Are Black and Latino Adolescents Being Asked if They Use Electronic Cigarettes and Advised
Not to Use Them? Results from a Community-Based Survey
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1
University of Rochester Medical Center, United Kingdom
2
Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico
Publication date: 2023-04-25
Tob. Prev. Cessation 2023;9(Supplement):A93
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Healthcare visits provide an opportunity to address electronic cigarette use (vaping) among
adolescents. This study was designed to explore if African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino
adolescents are being asked if they use electronic cigarettes and advised not to use them.
Material and Methods:
Adolescents with no vaping history, self-identifying as African American/Black and/or
Hispanic/Latino, and able to read and speak English and/or Spanish were recruited through partner
schools and community-based organizations. Participants completed a survey reporting
sociodemographic characteristics, and if they were asked if they use electronic cigarettes and/or were
advised not to use them by healthcare providers.
Results:
Twelve percent of African American/Black and 5% of Hispanic/Latino participants reported not
seeing a healthcare provider in the year prior to enrollment. Of the participants who reported visiting a
healthcare provider, 50.8% reported being asked and advised about vaping. One quarter (28.4%) of
participants were neither asked nor advised regarding vaping. Compared to English-speaking
participants, Spanish-speaking participants were significantly less likely to be asked (45.2% vs
63.9%, p=0.009) and advised (40.3% vs 66.9%, p<0.001) about e-cigarette use. Moreover, compared
to African American/Black participants, Hispanic/Latino participants were significantly less likely to be
advised about e-cigarette use (52.9% vs 68.6%, p=0.018). Furthermore, compared to male
participants, female participants were significantly less likely to be advised about vaping (51.3% vs
68.2%, p=0.003).
Conclusions:
Hispanic/Latino, Spanish-speaking, and female adolescents were significantly less likely to
self-report being asked or advised about e-cigarette use than Black/African American, Englishspeaking, and male adolescents. Improving provider attention to nicotine and tobacco use screening for all populations will be an important practice improvement goal for further research.