Use of electronic cigarettes among Romanian university students: a cross-sectional study

Introduction:
This text is a summary of a research article examining the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) among university students in Romania. The study aims to assess awareness, beliefs about e-cigarettes, and experimentation with them. It also investigates correlates of e-cigarette experimentation.

Key Points:

* A cross-sectional study was conducted among 480 university students aged 19-24 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
* The study found that 92.5% of students had heard about e-cigarettes, and 25.2% had tried them at least once during their lifetime.
* Among smokers, 53.3% had tried e-cigarettes, 7.8% had used them in the last month, and 11.7% intended to use them in the next year.
* The main reasons for trying e-cigarettes were curiosity, friends' influences, and smoking cessation.
* Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that male gender, smoking behavior, having friends who had experimented with e-cigarettes, and beliefs about e-cigarettes were associated with e-cigarette experimentation.
* The explained variance of e-cigarette-related behavior was 59%.
* Among smokers, the correlates of trying e-cigarettes were male gender, having friends who had tried e-cigarettes, smoking higher numbers of traditional cigarettes per day, and having stronger beliefs that e-cigarettes are less dangerous than traditional cigarettes and can help in quitting smoking.

Main Message:
The study highlights the widespread awareness and substantial experimentation with e-cigarettes among university students in Romania. It underscores the importance of addressing e-cigarette use through health education programs and regulatory interventions, as e-cigarettes are a reality faced by the Romanian youth. The study's findings can inform regulatory measures related to e-cigarette sales, marketing, and use, particularly in countries where e-cigarettes are legal and heavily marketed with no restrictions. It also highlights the need for further research on gender differences and the potential for e-cigarette experimentation to lead to frequent use.

Lotrean, Lucia Maria. “Use of Electronic Cigarettes among Romanian University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.” BMC Public Health 15, no. 1 (December 2015): 358. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1713-6.