Summary
Introduction:
This article examines the use of alternative tobacco products, including traditional smokeless tobacco products, novel smokeless tobacco products, and electronic cigarettes, among a nationally representative US sample of current and former smokers. The study investigates the association between alternative tobacco product use and smoking cessation behaviors.
Key Points:
* The study used a nationally representative probability-based cross-sectional survey of 1836 current or recently former adult smokers.
* Thirty-eight percent of smokers had tried an alternative tobacco product, most frequently electronic cigarettes.
* Alternative tobacco product use was associated with having made a quit attempt, and those intending to quit were more likely to have tried and to currently use the products than were smokers with no intentions to quit.
* Use was not associated with successful quit attempts.
* Interest in future use of alternative tobacco products was low, except for electronic cigarettes.
* The study did not find that alternative tobacco products promote cessation.
Main Message:
The study suggests that alternative tobacco products are attractive to smokers who want to quit smoking, but the data does not indicate that these products promote cessation. The authors recommend that unsubstantiated claims that alternative tobacco products aid smoking cessation should be prohibited. Overall, the study highlights the importance of regulating the marketing and promotion of alternative tobacco products to ensure that they do not make unsupported claims about their ability to help smokers quit.
Citation
Popova, Lucy, and Pamela M. Ling. “Alternative Tobacco Product Use and Smoking Cessation: A National Study.” American Journal of Public Health 103, no. 5 (May 2013): 923–30. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.301070.
