Jae Yong Paik, Chang Bin Hong, Ji Won Lee, Ji Hoon Lee, Tae-Jin Park, Jinseung Kim, Kayoung Lee

Department of Family Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea


Background: This study used the data of Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBS) to confirm the relationship between electronic cigarette use for smoking cessation among Korean adolescents and demo- graphic, health behavior, and school-life factors.
Methods: Data were taken from the 13th KYRBS in 2017. In this study on 62,276 adolescents, characteristics of 1,244 electronic cigarette users were compared with those of non-electronic cigarette users. The 1,244 ado- lescent electronic cigarette users were evaluated for characteristics related to smoking cessation. Among the related characteristics, demographic factors comprised sex, grade, economic status, weekly allowance, and residence type. Health status-related factors comprised physical activity, lifetime drinking experience, smoking amount, subjective health perception, and stress perception. School characteristics included school type, aca- demic performance, and smoking cessation education. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed using complex sample analysis.
Results: The proportion of current electronic cigarette users was 2.2% (boys, 3.3%; girls, 0.9%). Of the 41.5% of cigarette users willing to quit smoking, 11% used electronic cigarettes for this purpose. Among the electronic cigarette users, characteristics related to smoking cessation were grade, weekly allowance, and residence type, but logistic regression analysis revealed that increases in grade (odds ratio [OR], 2.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21-3.35) and living with family (OR, 4.17; 95% CI, 1.89-9.18) were associated with smoking cessation.
Conclusions: According to the 13th KYRBS in 2017, adolescents were likely to use electronic cigarette for smoking cessation when they are older and live with their families.
Korean J Health Promot 2019;19(2):69-76

Keywords: Korea, Adolescent, Electronic nicotine delivery systems, Smoking cessation