Research & Resources

This study sought to show the potential intersection between electronic cigarettes (vaping) and cannabis and alcohol use to inform nicotine prevention efforts. Data were drawn from 51,872 U.S. adolescents (grades 8, 10, and 12, from 2017–2019) from Monitoring the Future. Multinomial logistic regression analyses assessed links of past 30-day nicotine use (none, smoking-only, vaping-only, and any smoking plus vaping) with both past 30-day cannabis use and past 2-week binge drinking. Results showed that nicotine use patterns were strongly associated with greater likelihood of cannabis use and binge drinking, particularly for the highest levels of each. Those who smoked and vaped nicotine had 36.53 times higher odds of having 10+ past 2-week binge drinking instances compared to non-users of nicotine. The results indicated that given the strong associations between nicotine use and both cannabis use and binge drinking, there is a need for sustained interventions, advertising and promotion restrictions, and national public education efforts to reduce adolescent nicotine vaping while acknowledging co-occurring use.

This paper, “Nicotine vaping and co-occurring substance use among adolescents in the United States from 2017-2019,” was funded by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and published in the journal Substance use & misuse.