Socioeconomics of e-cigarette use in Colombia: 2019 National Substance Use Survey
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Background
E-cigarettes have been extensively marketed and popularized worldwide despite their harmful effects. To effectively plan and implement preventive measures, comprehensive analyses are needed to understand the influence of individual and contextual factors on their use.
Objective
This study aimed to analyze the influence of poverty and demographic and socioeconomic patterns on e-cigarette use in Colombia.
Methods
This study is based on a secondary analysis of the 2019 Colombian Survey on Psychoactive Substance Use, which included 49,756 individuals aged between 12 and 68. State-level multidimensional poverty and individual health-related, socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics were analyzed. Two-level regression models adjusted for the individual and contextual effects.
Results
The prevalence of vaping was 4.4% (95% CI: 4.2%-4.6%), with substantial variation across departments, ranging from 0.0% to 9.6%. In the multilevel models, younger age, male sex, technical or higher education, middle-income stratum, not contributing economically to the household, affiliation with the subsidized health scheme, history of tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, and self-reported use of other drugs were all significantly associated with vaping. The estimated median odds ratio for multidimensional poverty was 1.23 (95% CI: 1.14-1.33; p= 0.012).
Conclusions
E-cigarette use in Colombia is a health risk and an indicator of social vulnerability that is influenced by structural determinants. Urgent action from health authorities, the education system, regulatory bodies, and civil society is needed to prevent the normalization of vaping among youth. If left unaddressed, vaping could worsen health inequalities and lead to chronic addiction-related disorders in underserved communities.
- Vaping
- Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
- Smoking Devices
- Substance-Related Disorders
- Social Vulnerability
- Cannabis
- Smoking
Jose Moreno-Montoya, Universidad Industrial de Santander
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8446-1231
Statistician, MSc in Clinical Epidemiology, PhD in Epidemiology
Full Professor, School of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Industrial University of Santander.
Senior Epidemiologist, Division of Clinical Studies and Clinical Epidemiology, Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá
Silvia Marcela Ballesteros, a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:30:"Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá";}
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1382-6859
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, Clinical Studies and Epidemiology Division, Bogotá , Colombia
José A. De la Hoz-Valle, Universidad Nacional de Colombia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9087-2544
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, Clinical Studies and Epidemiology Division, Bogotá , Colombia.
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Accepted 2025-04-01
Published 2024-12-30
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