Dataset Information

Perceptions of the relative harm of cigarettes and e-cigarettes among U.S. youth.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Despite progress in reducing youth smoking, adolescents remain highly susceptible to tobacco use. Of concern is whether youth perceive electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) as a preferable alternative to conventional cigarettes. PURPOSE:To describe cigarette harm perception patterns among youth based on the frequency and intensity of cigarette smoking, and examine the relative harm perceptions of conventional versus e-cigarettes, using data from a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. youth. METHODS:Data from the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey (N=24,658) were analyzed in 2013 to identify patterns of cigarette harm perceptions. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to identify associations between demographic and tobacco use characteristics and cigarette harm perception patterns. Logistic regression was conducted to examine the relationship between cigarette harm perceptions and the perception of e-cigarettes as less harmful than cigarettes for current, ever, and never cigarette smokers. RESULTS:The majority of youth (64.2%) perceived the harmfulness of cigarettes as dose-dependent. Approximately one in three students perceived e-cigarettes as less harmful than conventional cigarettes. Regardless of cigarette smoking status, ever users of e-cigarettes and those with "dose-dependent" cigarette harm perceptions consistently were more likely to perceive e-cigarettes as less harmful than conventional cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS:Many youth perceive tobacco use on a continuum of harm. Youth who perceive gradations in harm-both by frequency and intensity of cigarette use and by type of product-may be particularly susceptible to e-cigarette use.

SUBMITTER: Ambrose BK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4642861 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Perceptions of the relative harm of cigarettes and e-cigarettes among U.S. youth.

Ambrose Bridget K BK Rostron Brian L BL Johnson Sarah E SE Portnoy David B DB Apelberg Benjamin J BJ Kaufman Annette R AR Choiniere Conrad J CJ

American journal of preventive medicine 20140801 2 Suppl 1

<h4>Background</h4>Despite progress in reducing youth smoking, adolescents remain highly susceptible to tobacco use. Of concern is whether youth perceive electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) as a preferable alternative to conventional cigarettes.<h4>Purpose</h4>To describe cigarette harm perception patterns among youth based on the frequency and intensity of cigarette smoking, and examine the relative harm perceptions of conventional versus e-cigarettes, using data from a large, nationally repre ...[more]

PMID: 25044196

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Project description:ImportanceElectronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are less harmful to users than combustible cigarettes. However, public health and media reporting have often overstated the potential risks of e-cigarettes, and inaccurate perceptions of the harms of vaping relative to smoking are pervasive.ObjectiveTo examine time trends in harm perceptions of e-cigarettes compared with combustible cigarettes among adults who smoke.Design, setting, and participantsThis nationally representative monthly cross-sectional survey study was conducted from November 2014 to June 2023 in England. Participants were adults who currently smoke.Main outcomes and measuresParticipants were asked whether they thought e-cigarettes were less harmful, equally harmful, or more harmful than cigarettes, or did not know, with the proportion responding less harmful (vs all other responses) as the primary outcome. Logistic regression was used to test associations between survey wave and participants' perceptions of the harms of e-cigarettes.ResultsData were collected from 28 393 adults who smoke (mean [SD] age, 43.5 [17.3] years; 13 253 [46.7%] women). In November 2014, 44.4% (95% CI, 42.0%-46.8%) thought e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes, 30.3% (95% CI, 28.2%-32.6%) thought e-cigarettes were equally harmful, 10.8% (95% CI, 9.4%-12.3%) thought they were more harmful, and 14.5% (95% CI, 12.9%-16.4%) did not know. However, by June 2023, the proportion who thought e-cigarettes were less harmful had decreased by 40% (prevalence ratio, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.55-0.66), and the proportion who thought e-cigarettes were more harmful had more than doubled (prevalence ratio, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.84-2.54). Changes over time were nonlinear: late 2019 saw a sharp decline in the proportion who thought e-cigarettes were less harmful and increases in the proportions who thought they were equally or more harmful. These changes were short-lived, returning to pre-2019 levels by the end of 2020. However, perceptions worsened again from 2021 up to the end of the study period: the proportion who thought e-cigarettes were more harmful increased to a new high, and the proportion who thought e-cigarettes were less harmful decreased to levels comparable to those in late 2019. As a result, in June 2023, the perception that e-cigarettes were equally as harmful as cigarettes was the most commonly held view among adults who smoke (33.7%; 95% CI, 31.4%-36.1%), with roughly similar proportions perceiving e-cigarettes to be less (26.7%; 95% CI, 24.6%-28.9%) and more (23.3%; 95% CI, 21.1%-25.7%) harmful.Conclusions and relevanceThis survey study of adults who smoke in England found that harm perceptions of e-cigarettes have worsened substantially over the last decade, such that most adults who smoked in 2023 believed e-cigarettes to be at least as harmful as cigarettes. The timing of the 2 most notable changes in harm perceptions coincided with the e-cigarette, or vaping product, use-associated lung injury outbreak in 2019 and the recent increase in youth vaping in England since 2021.

Project description:Background and aimsE-cigarettes (EC) and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) are less harmful than smoking, but misperceptions of relative harm are common. Aims were to (1) assess nicotine knowledge and perceptions of: harm of EC and NRT relative to smoking, addictiveness of EC relative to smoking, and change in harm to user if smoking replaced with EC; (2) define associations of these perceptions with respondent characteristics including nicotine knowledge; and (3) explore perceived main harms of EC and whether these differ by vaping status.DesignAnalyses were: (1) frequencies; (2) logistic regressions of perceptions of relative harm, addictiveness and change in harm onto demographics, smoking and vaping status and nicotine knowledge (attributing cancer or health risks of smoking to nicotine); and (3) frequencies and χ2 statistics.Setting and participantsParticipants were smokers and recent ex-smokers from one wave (September 2017) of a longitudinal online survey in the United Kingdom (n = 1720).MeasurementsDemographics included gender, age, smoking status, vaping status and income. Survey questions collected data on nicotine knowledge and harm perceptions of different products; the relative harm perceptions of NRT, EC and tobacco cigarettes; and perceived main harms of EC.FindingsRelative to smoking, 57.3% perceived EC and 63.4% NRT to be less harmful; 25.4% perceived EC to be less addictive; and 32.2% thought replacing smoking with EC reduced health harms a great deal. Participants were less likely to endorse these beliefs if they had never vaped, and participants who had inaccurate nicotine knowledge were less likely to endorse all these beliefs apart from the addictiveness of EC. The main concerns about EC were a lack of research (48.3%), regulation or quality control (37.8%) and harmfulness of chemicals (41.6%).ConclusionsLarge proportions of UK smokers and ex-smokers overestimate the relative harmfulness of e-cigarettes and nicotine replacement therapy compared with smoking; misattributing smoking harms to nicotine is associated with increased misperceptions.

Dataset Information

Perceptions of the relative harm of cigarettes and e-cigarettes among U.S. youth.

Publications

Perceptions of the relative harm of cigarettes and e-cigarettes among U.S. youth.

Similar Datasets

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