Youth e-cigarette never-users and ever-users perceptions of novel educational comic book.

This article examines youth perceptions of a novel educational comic book, *The Villainous Vape*, designed to communicate the dangers of e-cigarette use among middle and high school students in Kentucky. The study surveyed 76 students, distinguishing between never-users and ever-users of e-cigarettes, and found that never-users generally viewed the comic more positively, reporting greater enjoyment and belief in its effectiveness as a prevention tool. Ever-users were more likely to acknowledge that the comic made them think vaping was a bad idea and discouraged vaping, though they were less engaged by the medium. The findings suggest that story-based, peer-relatable comic books may be a promising approach for e-cigarette prevention education, particularly among youth who have not initiated use, but further research with more diverse and larger samples is needed to assess impact on health behaviors.