Introduction: 

E-cigarette use has increased rapidly worldwide since 2013 and there have been worrying increases in the use of e-cigarettes by adolescents and young people. In Ireland, smoking prevalence has declined significantly in recent decades but the availability of e-cigarettes in Ireland in recent years has led to concerns about the Tobacco Endgame. 

We use data from 2 waves (2015, 1,472 students and 2019, 1,949 students) of the Irish wing of the European Schools Project for Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), a cross-sectional survey that, every four years, collects comparable data on substance use among European students aged 15 and 16 years, including on e-cigarette use. 

Results: 

More students report using e-cigarettes in 2019 than in 2015, and the use of e-cigarettes among students is now more common than cigarette smoking. In 2019, almost four in 10 students (39%) had tried e-cigarettes and almost one in 6 (16%) were current users, up from 23% and 10% respectively in 2015. In 2019, boys (46%) were more likely than girls (33%) to have tried e-cigarettes and also to be current users (22% vs 12%). When asked about their reasons for trying e-cigarettes, about two-thirds (63%, 66%) said that it was “out of curiosity” in both 2015 and 2019, and 21% and 29% respectively said that it was because their friends offered it. In 2015, 17% said that it was to quit smoking while in 2019, only 3% gave that reason. Asked about their tobacco use when they first used an e-cigarette, in 2015 33% had never smoked tobacco but this had doubled to 68% in 2019. 

Conclusion : 

E-cigarette use among 15-16 year olds in Ireland has increased more than 50% between 2015 and 2019, with boys more at risk than girls. Of particular concern is the significant increase in the numbers of young people using e-cigarettes who have never smoked tobacco. Policy and legislative implications include provision of health education for young people about e-cigarettes, consideration of e-cigarette cessation programmes for adolescents, and the extension of tobacco control legislation regarding minors to be extended to include e-cigarettes.