Youth Use of Cannabis Via Vaporizer and Co-Use with Cigars

Introduction: Research has documented the positive association between use of cannabis and tobacco products among youth, with particular focus on the co-use cigars with marijuana (eg. blunts). In 2014, electronic vapor products (e-cigarettes) surpassed traditional cigarettes to become the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. middle and high school students. Researchers have recently evidenced that youth consume cannabis via electronic vapor products. In 2014, one study shows that 5.4% of a sample of students from 5 high schools in Connecticut reported ever use of vaporizing cannabis. Little is currently known about youth consumption of cannabis via vaporizer and how this compares with co-use of cannabis with cigars. We examine self-reported use of cannabis via vaporizer and co-use with cigars using a representative sample of middle school and high school students in Florida.

Methods: Data are from the 2015 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey, a representative sample of middle school students (MS) and high school students (HS) in the state of Florida collected (N=11,882). Weighted descriptive statistics reported.

Results: Weighted results show that 3.3% of MS and 11.8% of HS reported ever use of cannabis via vaporizer, compared with 6.0% of MS and 24.3% of HS who reported ever use of cannabis co-use with cigars. Results show racial/ethnic variation in ever use of cannabis via vaporizer among MS with percentages ranging from 2.8% (p<.05) among Whites to 4.3% (p<.05) for Other Race. Variations across racial/ethnic groups were higher among HS; 13.0% (p<.001) of White HS, 8.3% (p<.001) of African American HS, 12.3% (p<.001) of Hispanic and 12.0% (p<.001) of Other Race reported ever use of cannabis via vaporizer. Among current e-cigarette users, 29.8% of MS and 41.5% of HS reported ever use of cannabis via vaporizer. Among current cigar users, 72.5% of MS and 81.0% of HS reported cannabis co-use with cigars.

Conclusion: Using a U.S. state-level representative sample collected in 2015, we found a larger percentage of high school students report ever use of cannabis via vaporizer than prior reports from 2014. In our sample of high school students in Florida, over one-in-ten youth report ever use of cannabis via vaporizer. Consistent with prior reports on cannabis co-use with cigars, we found that over twice as many high school students report ever use of cannabis co-use with cigars than use in vaporizers. Results suggest that while use of cannabis via vaporizer among youth is less prevalent than co-use of cannabis with cigars, cannabis via vaporizer use may be increasing over time as these products become more popular. There may also be racial/ethnic variation in this use pattern. Further monitoring and surveillance of cannabis use with vaporizers and cigars is warranted.