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Abstract
<p class="first" id="P1">Electronic cigarettes (“e-cigs”) have recently gained in
popularity, but their health
risks, including dependence potential are unclear. This study analyzed the adult database
from the Wave 1 Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, a nationally
representative survey of tobacco use in the United States, to assess the relative
level of dependence among adult, exclusive everyday users of e-cigarettes and cigarettes.
</p><p id="P2">Of the total 32,320 observations from the Wave 1 PATH adult database,
3586 (5.9%,
weighted) were eligible for our analysis population. Among those who met the eligibility
criteria, 156 (4.6%) were exclusive e-cig users, and 3430 (95.4%) were exclusive cigarette
smokers. Our results show that e-cig users reported a significantly longer time-to-first-use
of the day after waking (measured in minutes) compared to cigarette smokers after
adjusting for confounders (adjusted Geometric Mean [95% Confidence Limits (CL)]: 29.2
[24.4–34.9] vs. 20.0 [18.7, 21.5]). In addition, cigarette smokers were significantly
more likely to consider themselves addicted (Adj. Odds Ratio [95% CL]: 6.9 [4.5–10.7]);
have strong cravings (2.9 [1.9–4.2]); find it difficult in the past 12 months to refrain
from using their product in places where it was prohibited (6.4 [2.9–14.3]); and feel
like they really needed to use their product (3.9 [2.4–6.4]).
</p><p id="P3">These results are consistent with previous studies, in finding that
exclusive daily
e-cigarette users are less dependent on their respective product than comparable cigarette
smokers.
</p>