Media Reports and Knowledge of e-Cigarette or Vaping Use-Associated Lung Injury Among Adolescents in California: Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study
Abstract
Background: e-Cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI), first reported in July 2019, caused over 2807 hospitalizations and 68 deaths by February 2020, when the outbreak subsided and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stopped updating the case number. Media coverage of EVALI was extensive but not always accurate concerning the cause, which turned out to be vitamin E acetate, a compound added to certain illicit cannabis vape products. Studies have documented a significant increase in the perceived risk of vaping among the US adult population. However, research on how the EVALI outbreak influenced adolescents' knowledge of the illness and their perception of the risk of vaping products is limited, especially those that used probability sampling of the adolescent population.
Objective: This study examined knowledge of EVALI among adolescents and explored the impact of media messages on their perceptions of the condition.
Methods: Archived news reports on EVALI from an online tobacco media analysis engine, Tobacco Watcher (July 2019-March 2020), and data from the California Student Tobacco Survey, a large statewide school-based survey of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders (September 2019-March 2020; N=157,499), were analyzed. Students' awareness of EVALI and perceptions of its cause were examined in relation to their sources of information about EVALI, and their perceived risk of vaping was analyzed by their awareness of EVALI.
Results: Of 19,661 news…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 157,499 participants or records.
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