Do Perceptions and Experiences of Vaping among Youth and Young Adults Differ by Device Type?

Youth and young adult (YYA) vaping is an escalating public health concern. Due to their sleek designs, desirable flavors, and high nicotine concentrations, pod-based devices currently hold the largest e-cigarette market share. The major contribution of pod-based devices to the vaping epidemic substantiates studying differences in perceptions and experiences between YYAs for pod and non-pod devices. Such evidence is imperative in hopes of developing device-specific interventions to decelerate e-cigarette use, which to date is limited. To address aforementioned gaps, nicotine-based e-cigarette users residing in Canada [N = 403, 53.6% male, mean age = 18.3 years (SD = 1.9), pod users = 62.5%] were surveyed using open-ended questions. Responses to each question were coded by topic. Using these codes, differences between YYA (youth versus young adults) use of each device type (pods and non-pod devices) were quantitatively examined for each topic and underlying categories. Youth non-pod users frequently reported nicotine rush and enhancement more frequently and positive social aspects less frequently than young adult non-pod users. Youth pod users reported more exposure to buying and selling vaping content on social media than young adult pod users. The novel findings of this study highlight the need for considering differences among YYA users of each device-type in developing policies and interventions. Policies in the form of reducing nicotine concentration and alternative coping strategy interventions will likely work for youth non-pod users, yet de-normalizing vaping through social marketing distinctively benefits young adult counterparts. Additionally, regulating social media in both user- and industry-generated forms is key for youth pod users.