P1051 - Parents are not Aware of Their Adolescents’ Cigarette and E-Cigarette Use

Background: The prevalence of vaping and of any tobacco use among teens has risen sharply over the past
two years. Although 27.5% of high school students are a past 30-day vaper and 5.8% report past 30-day
cigarette smoking, parents may not be aware of their child's vaping and smoking behaviors. Awareness of trial
is important, because ever use of tobacco products is a critical step on the trajectory to current tobacco use.

Objective: To examine parents' knowledge of their child's smoking and vaping behaviors, and predictors of
awareness.
Design/

Methods: We analyzed data from 14,798 adolescents (ages 12 to17) and one of their parents
surveyed in 2016-18 for wave 4 of the nationally representative longitudinal Population Assessment of Tobacco
and Health Study. Parents were asked if their child had ever tried a tobacco product, if any of the child's close
biological or blood relatives used tobacco products, and how the child performed in school during the past 12
months. The child of the parent interviewed was asked if they had ever tried cigarette smoking and/or had ever
used an electronic nicotine product.

Results: Weighted response rates for retained Wave 1 adolescents and the Wave 4 replenishment sample
were 79.5% and 70.6%, respectively. Although trying both cigarettes and e-cigarettes was more prevalent
among adolescents whose parent reported awareness of their child having ever used tobacco products (see
Table 1), many adolescents whose parent did not suspect use had also used tobacco. Moreover, children of
parents who were not aware of their teen’s use were twice as likely to have tried e-cigarettes as cigarettes.
Parents tended to have more accurate awareness of their child's tobacco use if any of the child's close
relatives used tobacco products. The child's performance in school did not relate to parental awareness.
Conclusion(s): Many parents are not aware of the tobacco product use by their children, a problem that is
especially acute for e-cigarettes. The recent epidemic in adolescent vaping and the availability of new ecigarette
products with features that reduce the likelihood of detection suggest an increasing imperative for
parents and pediatricians to discuss the risks of these products with teens even when parents do not believe
their own child uses these products.