Steve Sussman, Artur Galimov, Leah Meza, Jimi Huh, Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, Pallav Pokhrel
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引用次数: 2
Abstract
Vape shops specialize in the sales of e-cigarettes and other vaping products. In recent studies, young adults who use e-cigarettes have tended to identify with at-risk peer crowds. This is the first study to examine vape shop customers' clientele. Composed primarily of young adults and persons in early middle adulthood, we speculated that a relatively high prevalence of those who appeared to bystanders as radical/extreme (at-risk) customers would be identified as such at these shops. We recruited vape shops throughout Southern California (N = 44 shops), and trained teams of data collectors visited each of the consented vape shops, making note of 451 customers' appearance, including features such as manner of dress, presence of tattoos, and hairstyles. Customers were then coded as either belonging to a conventional, progressive, or radical/extreme crowd based on outward appearance. Of the customers observed, 223 (49%) were rated as appearing to be in the conventional crowd; 169 (38%) were rated as appearing to be in the progressive crowd, and only 59 (13%) were rated as appearing to be in the radical/extreme crowd. The conventional crowd tended to appear older. Clientele may reflect that more conventional young and early middle age adults are tempted to visit vape shops due to perceptions of greater acceptability or safety of e-cigarettes. E-cigarette mass media campaigns aimed at protecting potential vape shop customers from harm may need to depict more conservative-looking characters.
期刊介绍:
Authoritative, peer-refereed publication affording a wide-ranging coverage of important trends and developments in the drug field. Whatever your area of special interest, the Journal of Drug Education brings timely, helpful information, insights and methodologies that can be adapted to various situations. Look to this Quarterly for critical analyses, innovative approaches, scholarly standards, and clear, concise reports on theoretical, research and programmatic issues.