Health care providers (HCP) are uniquely positioned to advise against electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use, potentially influencing youth perceptions of e-cigarette harms. However, research examining these associations is scant. We examined whether HCP e-cigarette-related advice is associated with youth e-cigarette harm perceptions.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Setting
National Youth Tobacco Survey data (2022).
Subjects
21,254 youth aged 9-18 years.
Measures
E-cigarette harm perceptions (i.e., relative addictiveness, occasional use harm, and secondhand e-cigarette aerosol (SHA) harm) and HCP advice to abstain from using e-cigarettes (yes/no) were assessed.
Analysis
Adjusted odds ratios were estimated using multinomial logistic regression models.
Results
Among the sample, 33.9% perceived e-cigarettes as equally addictive to cigarettes, 39.9% perceived occasional e-cigarette use to cause a lot of harm, and 23.3% perceived SHA to cause a lot of harm. Youth who received HCP advice had higher odds of perceiving e-cigarettes as more addictive than cigarettes (OR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.35-2.00) and causing a lot of harm (OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.16-1.90). Youth who received HCP advice had higher odds of perceiving SHA causing little harm (OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.04-1.44).
Conclusion
HCP advice was associated with youth e-cigarette harm perceptions and perceptions that SHA causes little harm. HCP e-cigarette counseling may help inform understanding of harms, which may reduce or prevent use.
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