Household vaping bans and youth e-cigarette use

Aims: The aims of this study were to measure whether household bans on vaping were associated with lower odds of youth past-month vaping when compared with (1) otherwise similar youth whose households did not have a vaping ban (using coarsened exact matching); and (2) themselves in waves when their household did not have a ban (using hybrid panel models). We used the same analytical strategies to examine cross-sectional associations between household smoking bans and adolescents’ past-month cigarette smoking. Design: This was a longitudinal study using data from a nationally representative sample of youth (age 12–17 years) in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. Setting: United States of America. Participants: A total of 16 214 adolescents followed over 48 103 total observations (approximately three waves). Measurements: Measurements comprised youth past-month e-cigarette and cigarette use and parent-reported household bans on vaping and smoking. Potential confounders were prior adolescent smoking, vaping, and other nicotine product use; parent current smoking, vaping, and other nicotine use; adolescent peer e-cigarette/cigarette use; parental monitoring; and demographic characteristics. Findings: Before matching, smoking bans were associated with 46% lower odds of youth smoking [odds ratio (OR) = 0.54; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.41–0.70] and vaping bans with 37% lower odds of youth e-cigarette use (OR = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.50–0.80). However, households with and without bans differed significantly on all confounders before matching. After matching, household vaping bans were associated with 56% lower odds of youth vaping (OR = 0.44; 95% CI = 0.33–0.58). Results from hybrid panel models also revealed 37% lower odds of vaping in waves when youth lived in a vape-free household compared to waves when they did not (OR = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.50–0.78). Associations between smoking bans and youth smoking were not statistically significant after matching or when using hybrid panel models. Conclusions: Household vaping bans appear to be associated with lower odds of past-month vaping among US adolescents, compared with similar youth whose households did not have a ban and to themselves in waves when their households did not have a ban.