E-cigarette use behaviors and device characteristics of daily exclusive e-cigarette users in Maryland: Implications for product toxicity Aherrera, Angela Olmedo Palma, Pablo Nicotine Health implications E-cigarettes Device characteristics Use patterns and behaviors INTRODUCTION Few studies to date have characterized daily exclusive e-cigarette users, device characteristics, and use behaviors. This study describes daily e-cigarette user characteristics, and assesses the association between user behaviors and demographics. METHODS From 2015–2017, 100 daily exclusive e-cigarette users and 50 nonusers were recruited in Maryland, USA. Sociodemographic characteristics, health status, e-cigarette/tobacco use behaviors, device characteristics, and reasons for e-cigarette use were collected by interview. Chi-squared tests (categorical variables), Student’s t-test (continuous variables), and linear regressions were used to assess relationships between variables. RESULTS Most daily exclusive e-cigarette users were men, White, former smokers, used MODs/tanks, and vaped on average 365 puffs/day (SD: 720). A third of users first vaped within 5 minutes of waking in the morning, and 56% vaped throughout the day. E-liquid consumption ranged from 5–240 mL/week (median: 32.5), with nicotine concentration 0–24 mg/mL (median: 3). E-cigarette users were more likely to report wheezing/whistling and hypertension than controls, although the finding was not statistically significant after adjustment. Less than half planned to quit vaping. CONCLUSIONS Daily e-cigarette users between 2015–2017 most commonly vaped MOD/tank devices. Being male and of lower education was associated with higher usage. Daily users with no intention to quit may be at risk for increased exposure to emissions from e-cigarettes that include inorganic (metals) and organic (e.g. acrolein, formaldehyde) compounds with known toxic effects, particularly to the lung. Further research is needed to characterize the long-term health effects of daily e-cigarette use 2021-02-12T10:29:59Z 2021-02-12T10:29:59Z 2020-10-09 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Aherrera, A., Aravindakshan, A., Jarmul, S., Olmedo, P., Chen, R., Cohen, J. E., ... & Rule, A. M. (2020). E-cigarette use behaviors and device characteristics of daily exclusive e-cigarette users in Maryland: Implications for product toxicity. Tobacco Induced Diseases, 18. [https://doi.org/10.18332/tid/128319] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/66499 10.18332/tid/128319 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución 3.0 España European Publlishing Science y Technolgy Park Crete