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Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Could Help Reduce Smoking, Survey Suggests
Feb. 5, 2013 Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), or e-cigarettes, debuted in China in 2003 and have since become available globally, particularly through the Internet. While they resemble traditional tobacco cigarettes, they produce fewer toxins in the vapor for the smoker. Still, these novel products have unknown long-term health and addiction consequences, are of varying nicotine content and delivery, and may appeal to nonusers and youth. ENDS have been banned by health authorities in Canada and Australia.
Researchers from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada investigated ENDS awareness, use, and perceptionsamong current and former cigarette smokers.
"We were not aware of any studies to datethat examined cross-national patterns of ENDS use," says lead investigatorRichard J. O'Connor, PhD, Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park CancerInstitute, Buffalo, New York. "No studies have examined use in marketswhere ENDS are nominally banned."
Data from the International tobacco Control (ITC)Four-Country Survey, collected from nearly 6,000 respondents through telephoneand web surveys from July 2010 to June 2011, formed the basis of the study.Across countries, ENDS awareness reached nearly 47 percent, ranging from 73percent in the United States where ENDS are legal, to 20 percent in Australiawhere they are banned. Awareness was higher among younger (aged 18-24),non-minority populations with higher incomes. Of those aware, 16 percent hadtried ENDS.
Slightly more than 70 percent of respondents saidthat ENDS were less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Perceptions of harmwere higher in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Current users included non-daily smokers and thosewho smoked twenty or more cigarettes a day. Nearly 80 percent reported theyused ENDS because they were considered less harmful than traditionalcigarettes. Seventy-five percent said they used ENDS to reduce the number ofcigarettes they smoke. Eight-five percent reported using ENDS to help them quitsmoking. Nearly three-quarters reported use of ENDS to access nicotine in smoke-freespaces, suggesting the use of ENDS to satisfy nicotine addiction during periodsof temporary abstinence.
The high level of awareness of ENDS in countrieswhere they are banned may demonstrate the importance of the Internet'spromotion of the product.
Says Dr. O'Connor: "This study represents asnapshot in time of the use of ENDS from mid-2010 to mid-2011. As the marketevolves, awareness, trial, and use of ENDS is likely to increase. Shouldregulatory authorities approve direct claims about reduced harm, one mightexpect greater adoption of these products, at least among current cigarettesmokers. If credible evidence can be provided to regulators, throughindependently researched, well-controlled studies, that ENDS reduces the numberof cigarette smokers and does not attract use among nonsmokers, then the netpublic health effect is likely to be positive."
Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Could Help Reduce Smoking, Survey Suggests
Feb. 5, 2013 Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), or e-cigarettes, debuted in China in 2003 and have since become available globally, particularly through the Internet. While they resemble traditional tobacco cigarettes, they produce fewer toxins in the vapor for the smoker. Still, these novel products have unknown long-term health and addiction consequences, are of varying nicotine content and delivery, and may appeal to nonusers and youth. ENDS have been banned by health authorities in Canada and Australia.
Researchers from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada investigated ENDS awareness, use, and perceptionsamong current and former cigarette smokers.
"We were not aware of any studies to datethat examined cross-national patterns of ENDS use," says lead investigatorRichard J. O'Connor, PhD, Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park CancerInstitute, Buffalo, New York. "No studies have examined use in marketswhere ENDS are nominally banned."
Data from the International tobacco Control (ITC)Four-Country Survey, collected from nearly 6,000 respondents through telephoneand web surveys from July 2010 to June 2011, formed the basis of the study.Across countries, ENDS awareness reached nearly 47 percent, ranging from 73percent in the United States where ENDS are legal, to 20 percent in Australiawhere they are banned. Awareness was higher among younger (aged 18-24),non-minority populations with higher incomes. Of those aware, 16 percent hadtried ENDS.
Slightly more than 70 percent of respondents saidthat ENDS were less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Perceptions of harmwere higher in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Current users included non-daily smokers and thosewho smoked twenty or more cigarettes a day. Nearly 80 percent reported theyused ENDS because they were considered less harmful than traditionalcigarettes. Seventy-five percent said they used ENDS to reduce the number ofcigarettes they smoke. Eight-five percent reported using ENDS to help them quitsmoking. Nearly three-quarters reported use of ENDS to access nicotine in smoke-freespaces, suggesting the use of ENDS to satisfy nicotine addiction during periodsof temporary abstinence.
The high level of awareness of ENDS in countrieswhere they are banned may demonstrate the importance of the Internet'spromotion of the product.
Says Dr. O'Connor: "This study represents asnapshot in time of the use of ENDS from mid-2010 to mid-2011. As the marketevolves, awareness, trial, and use of ENDS is likely to increase. Shouldregulatory authorities approve direct claims about reduced harm, one mightexpect greater adoption of these products, at least among current cigarettesmokers. If credible evidence can be provided to regulators, throughindependently researched, well-controlled studies, that ENDS reduces the numberof cigarette smokers and does not attract use among nonsmokers, then the netpublic health effect is likely to be positive."
