• Naiomi Cohen, Justin Jeter, Kathryn Schissler, Juan Lozano, Vincenzo Maniaci, and Barbara Peña.
• From the Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine.
• Pediatr Emerg Care. 2022 Feb 1; 38 (2): e709e713e709-e713.

ObjectivesElectronic cigarettes (e-cigs) and vaping are a popular form of substance abuse among adolescents. Studies have shown that adolescents have a poor understanding of e-cigs but little is known about parental understanding. The primary objective was to assess if a discrepancy in perception and knowledge regarding the content and safety profile of e-cigs between adolescents and their parents exists.MethodsSingle-site prospective questionnaire analysis of adolescents (12-21 years) and their parents between November 2018 and March 2019 was performed. Each participant pair received an anonymous, confidential, electronic questionnaire. Data were collected via Research Electronic Data Capture. χ2 and independent t tests were used for comparative analysis.ResultsA total of 300 adolescent/parent pairs were included for analysis. The mean age of adolescents was 15.1 years (SD, 2.1), and that of parents was 43.9 years (SD, 8.7). Overall knowledge of e-cigs was inadequate in both adolescents and parents: 93.7% and 88.3%, respectively (P < 0.0001). Less adolescents (49.0%) compared with parents (71.0%) perceived any health risks to smoking e-cigs (P < 0.0001). Among adolescents, 17% admitted to smoking e-cigs compared with 5.4% smoking conventional tobacco cigarettes (P < 0.0001), and they reported using e-cigs (17.0%) more often than any other substance except alcohol (27.3%). Only 49.7% of adolescents reported receiving formal education at school regarding e-cigs. Parents reported discussing e-cigs risks/benefits with adolescents less often than other topics (71.3% vs 79.0% to 84.3%; P < 0.0007).ConclusionsThis analysis suggests that perception and knowledge regarding the content and safety profile of e-cigs are poor among both adolescents and parents. These findings support the need for tighter federal regulation and an increase in public health awareness programs.Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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