Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41372944›Full record

ArticleHarm reduction journal2025

Patterns of flavored e-cigarette use at the time of quitting smoking: comparison between American young adults (18-24 years old) and older adults (> 24 years old).

Konstantinos Farsalinos, Christopher Russell, Riccardo Polosa, Konstantinos Poulas, George Lagoumintzis, Anastasia Barbouni

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Harm reduction journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Konstantinos FarsalinosAcademic Unit for the Study of Smoking Behavior, University of West Attica, Egaleo, Greece. kfarsalinos@gmail.com.
Christopher RussellRussell Burnett Research & Consultancy Ltd, Glasgow, UK.
Riccardo PolosaDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Konstantinos PoulasLaboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
George LagoumintzisLaboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
Anastasia BarbouniAcademic Unit for the Study of Smoking Behavior, University of West Attica, Egaleo, Greece.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFlavored e-cigarettes remain a controversial public health topic, with disagreement on their potential benefits and harms. In this study we compared patterns of flavor use in e-cigarettes at the time of quitting smoking between young adults (18-24 years old) with older adults (> 24 years old).

methodsA convenience sample of US adults who formerly smoked and reported consuming e-cigarettes every day or some days during the period of quitting smoking were included in the study (N = 51,641) and responded to an online questionnaire. Participants were divided into young adults (n = 9895) and older adults (n = 41746).

resultsThe most popular flavors used regularly by young adults and older adults were fruit (92.3% and 81.3%, P < 0.001), followed by dessert/pastry/bakery (67.3% and 68.1%, P = 0.054) and candy/chocolate/sweet (49.7% and 43.3%, P < 0.001). Fruit was the most prevalent single most often used flavor for both groups but was more prevalent in young adults (63.4% vs. 46.0% in older adults, P < 0.001), followed by dessert/pastry/bakery which was more prevalent in older adults (32.1% vs. 22.7% in young adults, P < 0.001). Menthol and mint/wintergreen flavors, while the fourth and fifth most popular flavors used regularly, were the single most often used flavors by only a small minority in both groups. Tobacco flavor was the single most often used flavor by 1.1% of young and 6.0% of older adults (P < 0.001). From logistic regression analysis, being a young adult was positively associated with the use of fruit (OR: 1.65, 95% CI 1.16-2.35), menthol (OR: 1.58, 95% CI 1.09-2.30), mint/wintergreen (OR: 1.51, 95% CI 1.00-2.28) and non-alcoholic/non-coffee drink (OR: 1.83, 95% CI 1.18-2.83) flavors, and negatively associated with the use of tobacco (OR: 0.52, 95% CI 0.34-0.78) flavor at the time of quitting smoking.

conclusionNon-tobacco flavors were popular among the US adult former-smoking e-cigarette consumers at the time of quitting smoking, but different flavor preferences exist between young and older adults. Tobacco flavor use prevalence was low, as were menthol and mint/wintergreen, particularly as the single most often used flavors. Future studies should explore patterns of e-cigarette flavor use in young adults who smoke or used to smoke, in addition to those with no smoking history.

Indexed as

Electronic Nicotine Delivery SystemsFlavoring AgentsSmoking CessationVapingAdolescentAdultAgedAge FactorsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited StatesYoung AdultFlavoring Agents

Identifiers

PMID41372944
PMCPMC12801745

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.