Risk Factors for E-Cigarette Ban Relaxation in Homes With Adolescents

Purpose: To identify risk factors for relaxing a strict e-cigarette ban in households with adolescents. Methods: Youth (ages 12–17) in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study whose parents held a strict vaping ban in 2016 (n = 6,514; 51.5% male) and their parents provided follow-up data on up to four occasions through 2020 on whether the ban was relaxed. Results: 13.5% of households with strict vaping bans relaxed them in a subsequent wave. Results from a logistic regression model showed that the odds of relaxing strict bans were higher if, at baseline, parents vaped (OR = 2.20; 95% CI: 1.22–3.97; p < .01), parents smoked tobacco (OR = 2.55; CI: 2.00–3.26; p < .001), youth smoked tobacco (OR = 2.27; CI: 1.29–4.00; p < .01), parents reported no smoking ban (OR = 2.68; CI: 1.88–3.81; p < .001), youth did not know that their household had a vaping ban (OR = 1.95; CI: 1.50–2.54; p < .001), and parents perceived low harm from vaping (OR = 1.60; CI: 1.16–2.19; p < .01). Although most sociodemographic controls were not independently associated, parents were less likely to relax bans if they had a college degree (OR = 0.71; CI: 0.51–0.998; p < .05), graduate degree (OR = 0.50; CI: 0.43–0.72; p < .001), or children who were non-Hispanic Black (OR = 0.69; CI: 0.49–0.96; p < .05) or Hispanic (OR = 0.62; CI: 0.47–0.81; p < .001). Discussion: While most households with adolescents prohibited e-cigarette use indoors, nearly one in seven relaxed prior strict vaping bans. Parents need support to maintain clear, consistent, and continuous restrictions that communicate that vaping is not safe or permissible for youth.