The demographic breakdown of the sample is shown in
Table 1. One in five respondents (19.2%) reported having
accessed e-cigarettes, with access being higher in males
than in females and increasing with age and deprivation
(Table 1). Levels of e-cigarette access increased from
4.9% of those who had never smoked cigarettes, to half
(50.7%) of ex-smokers and over two thirds of regular
smokers (67.2% light regular smokers, 75.8% heavy regular
smokers, P < 0.001; Table 1). Thus, across all students
who had accessed e-cigarettes, 35.8% were regular
smokers, 11.6% only smoked when drinking, 13.6% were
ex-smokers, 23.3% had tried smoking but didn’t like it,
and 15.8% had never smoked. Teenagers with a parent/
guardian who smoked were more likely to have accessed
e-cigarettes than those with non-smoking parents/guardians
(Table 1). E-cigarette access also showed a strong
relationship with alcohol use. Students who drank alcohol
at any level were significantly more likely to have
accessed e-cigarettes than non-drinkers (23.7% v 9.3%,
P < 0.001), with prevalence rising from less than one in
ten in non-drinkers or occasional moderate drinkers to
41.9% in regular drinkers that binge