Perceptions and use of e-cigarettes among young adults in Hong Kong.

Perceptions and use of e-cigarettes among young adults in Hong Kong.

Jiang, Nan;Cleland, Charles M;Wang, Man Ping;Kwong, Antonio;Lai, Vienna;Lam, Tai Hing;
BMC public health 2019 Vol. 19 pp. 1123
296
jiang2019perceptionsbmc

Abstract

Little is known about the risk and addiction perceptions of e-cigarettes among Asian populations. We examined e-cigarette perceptions among young adults in Hong Kong and the association between the perceptions and e-cigarette use patterns.An online survey was administered to a convenience sample of Hong Kong residents aged 18-35 (N = 1186). Measures of e-cigarette perceptions included perceived harm and addictiveness of e-cigarettes, perceived harm of secondhand e-cigarette aerosol, and perceived popularity of e-cigarette use among peers. Separate multinomial logistic regression models were conducted to examine the associations between the four perceptions and former and current use of e-cigarettes relative to never use, controlling for demographics and current cigarette smoking status. Interactions of e-cigarette perceptions and current cigarette smoking were assessed in all models. Among current e-cigarette users, bivariate exact logistic regression models were used to examine the relationships between each of the perceptions and frequent e-cigarette use (≥3 days in past 30-day vs. 1-2 days). Among participants who had never used e-cigarettes, separate multivariable logistic regression models were conducted to examine the associations between e-cigarette perceptions and susceptibility to e-cigarette use.Overall, 97.2% of participants were aware of e-cigarettes, and 16.1% had tried e-cigarettes (11.3% former users; 4.8% current users). Young adults perceived e-cigarettes (and aerosol) as less harmful, less addictive, and less popular than cigarettes. Current cigarette smokers reported significantly lower perceived harmfulness and addictiveness of e-cigarettes, lower perceived harmfulness of e-cigarette aerosol, and higher perceived popularity than nonsmokers. The lower degree of harm and addiction perceptions, and higher levels of popularity perceptions were associated with greater odds of e-cigarette use, and these relationships were generally stronger among nonsmokers compared to current cigarette smokers. E-cigarette perceptions were not associated with frequent e-cigarette use. Perceiving e-cigarettes (and aerosol) as less harmful and less addictive were associated with greater susceptibility to e-cigarette use. Compared to nonsmokers, current smokers were more likely to report e-cigarette use and susceptibility.Continued monitoring of e-cigarette use and perceptions is needed. Educational programs should emphasize the potential harmful and addictive properties of e-cigarettes and the risks of secondhand exposure to e-cigarette aerosol.

Citation

ID: 12567
Ref Key: jiang2019perceptionsbmc
Use this key to autocite in SciMatic or Thesis Manager

References

Blockchain Verification

Account:
NFT Contract Address:
0x95644003c57E6F55A65596E3D9Eac6813e3566dA
Article ID:
12567
Unique Identifier:
10.1186/s12889-019-7464-z
Network:
Scimatic Chain (ID: 481)
Loading...
Blockchain Readiness Checklist
Authors
Abstract
Journal Name
Year
Title
5/5
Creates 1,000,000 NFT tokens for this article
Token Features:
  • ERC-1155 Standard NFT
  • 1 Million Supply per Article
  • Transferable via MetaMask
  • Permanent Blockchain Record
Blockchain QR Code
Scan with Saymatik Web3.0 Wallet

Saymatik Web3.0 Wallet