Are Black and Latino Adolescents Being Asked if They Use Electronic Cigarettes and Advised Not to Use Them? Results from a Community-Based Survey

Introduction Healthcare visits provide an opportunity to address electronic cigarette use (vaping) among adolescents. This study was designed to explore if African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino adolescents are being asked if they use electronic cigarettes and advised not to use them. Material and Methods Adolescents with no vaping history, self-identifying as African American/Black and/or Hispanic/Latino, and able to read and speak English and/or Spanish were recruited through partner schools and community-based organizations. Participants completed a survey reporting sociodemographic characteristics, and if they were asked if they use electronic cigarettes and/or were advised not to use them by healthcare providers. Results Twelve percent of African American/Black and 5% of Hispanic/Latino participants reported not seeing a healthcare provider in the year prior to enrollment. Of the participants who reported visiting a healthcare provider, 50.8% reported being asked and advised about vaping. One quarter (28.4%) of participants were neither asked nor advised regarding vaping. Compared to English-speaking participants, Spanish-speaking participants were significantly less likely to be asked (45.2% vs 63.9%, p=0.009) and advised (40.3% vs 66.9%, p<0.001) about e-cigarette use. Moreover, compared to African American/Black participants, Hispanic/Latino participants were significantly less likely to be advised about e-cigarette use (52.9% vs 68.6%, p=0.018). Furthermore, compared to male participants, female participants were significantly less likely to be advised about vaping (51.3% vs 68.2%, p=0.003). Conclusions Hispanic/Latino, Spanish-speaking, and female adolescents were significantly less likely to self-report being asked or advised about e-cigarette use than Black/African American, Englishspeaking, and male adolescents. Improving provider attention to nicotine and tobacco use screening for all populations will be an important practice improvement goal for further research.