One in five participants reported having accessed e-cigarettes (19.2%). Prevalence was highest among
smokers (rising to 75.8% in those smoking >5 per day), although 15.8% of teenagers that had accessed e-cigarettes
had never smoked conventional cigarettes (v.13.6% being ex-smokers). E-cigarette access was independently
associated with male gender, having parents/guardians that smoke and students’ alcohol use. Compared with
non-drinkers, teenagers that drank alcohol at least weekly and binge drank were more likely to have accessed
e-cigarettes (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.89, P < 0.001), with this association particularly strong among never-smokers
(AOR 4.59, P < 0.001). Among drinkers, e-cigarette access was related to: drinking to get drunk, alcohol-related violence,
consumption of spirits; self-purchase of alcohol from shops or supermarkets; and accessing alcohol by recruiting adult
proxy purchasers outside shops.