Prevalence, use characteristics and knowledge of electronic cigarettes among children in Bogotá, Colombia.

<bold>Objective:</bold> To describe the prevalence, use characteristics, and knowledge of electronic cigarettes (EC). <bold>Methods:</bold> Prospective cross-sectional study conducted at the Fundación Neumológica Colombiana (FNC) in Bogotá, Colombia (2021 - 2022). An anonymous survey of 20 questions was administered. Approved by the Research and Ethics committees of the FNC. <bold>Results:</bold> Of 1061 students in the study, 331 (31.2%) reported having used EC at some point in their lives, the vapers population (VP) (Table 1). In the VP, they were older, had smoking relatives, and reported being curious about EC [p=<0.001]. 16.6% reported consumption in the last 30 days and 55.9% reported a last consumption more than 6 months ago. The age of onset was 15 years (14 - 17) and the minimum age was 7 years. 60% reported obtaining them because someone had offered them. In the nonvapers population (NVP), 27.4% were interested in EC. In knowledge, the NVP outperformed the VP, who exhibited a lower success rate [p=<0.001]. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> These results show the growth in the use of EC in Colombia and emphasize the importance of implementing educational programs in this population that raise awareness of the health effects of these devices, promote healthy lifestyles, and prevent risk behaviors. <bold>Table 1.</bold> General characteristics of the population <table-wrap><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA4027/T1</object-id><object-id>T1</object-id><object-id>t1</object-id><table><colgroup><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>Variables</td><td>VP n=331</td><td>NVP n=730</td><td>Total n=1061</td><td>P value</td></tr><tr><td>Age, years</td><td>15 (14 - 17)</td><td>13 (12 - 15)</td><td>14 (13 - 16)</td><td><0,001</td></tr><tr><td> Female Male </td><td> 154 (49,4) 158 (50,6) </td><td> 282 (49,9) 283 (50,1) </td><td> 436 (49,7) 441 (50,3) </td><td>0,876</td></tr><tr><td> Grade 6-9 Grade 10-11 </td><td> n=325 185 (56,9) 140 (43,1) </td><td> n=736 627 (86,4) 99 (13,6) </td><td> n=1051 812 (77,3) 239 (22,7) </td><td><0,001</td></tr></tbody></table></table-wrap> Values as median (P25 – P75) or N (%). p value = 0.05 statistically significant.