Summary
Little is known about vaping and its associated factors among Asian adolescents worldwide. Researchers of this article conducted a scoping review of the international literature on vaping among Asian adolescents. This study uses 2014 and 2015 California Health Interview (CHIS) data.
Findings: The prevalence of Asian adolescent vaping varied by the country’s e-cigarette policies: Indonesia had the highest prevalence with 32.2% (ever vapers) and 11.8% (current vapers) in 2019, while Japan had the lowest prevalence with 2.1% to 3.5% (ever vapers) and 0.7% to 1.0% (current vapers) in 2017. In New Zealand, a Western country with strong tobacco control but liberal policies on vaping, the prevalence of ever vaping was 20.4%, regular vaping 4.2%, and weekly vaping 2.8% in 2019.
The most common reasons for vaping in both contexts were curiosity and peer influence. The internet as a popular source of information on vaping was identified mostly in Asian studies. In Asian contexts, the most common reasons for more frequent vaping were the desire to quit smoking and the ability to vape indoors, whereas in Western countries, the top three reasons were nicotine concentration, nicotine dependence, and more daily vaping sessions.
Regular monitoring and more targeted research to understand adolescents’ vaping behaviors will need to be undertaken on this heterogeneous population to inform appropriate policies and regulations.