Summary
Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of a study examining the relationship between electronic cigarette (ECIG) use and cigarette smoking cessation or reduction. The study used concept mapping, a mixed-method participatory approach, to identify ECIG use behaviors and device characteristics that ECIG users perceive to be associated with cigarette smoking cessation or reduction.
Key Points:
* The study identified eight clusters of ECIG use behaviors and device characteristics associated with cigarette smoking cessation or reduction.
* Participants rated the "Convenience" cluster the highest, while the "Social Benefits" cluster was rated higher by younger participants and non-white participants.
* Participants who did not report smoking cigarettes currently rated the "Perceived Health Effects" cluster higher than those who reported smoking cigarettes every day or most days.
* Participants who reported using ECIGs 25 + days out of the past 30 rated the "Convenience," "Advantages of ECIGs over Cigarettes," and "Perceived Health Effects" clusters higher than those who reported ECIG use on 1-29 days in the past 30 days.
* Participants who reported using their ECIG "almost always throughout most of the day" or "fairly frequently throughout the day" rated all the clusters higher than participants who reported using ECIGs either "at least once per day" or "every once in a while throughout the day."
* The study found that some behaviors and perceptions may be associated with ECIG use frequency or cigarette smoking status, but not both.
* The majority of participants did not know the characteristics of their ECIG devices, such as nicotine yield and delivery.
Main Message:
The study highlights the heterogeneity of ECIG use behaviors and device characteristics and suggests that considering this heterogeneity may help researchers understand why some cigarette smokers who use ECIGs continue to smoke while others reduce or quit smoking. The findings can inform measures in larger national studies and help inform FDA regulations related to device characteristics that may promote combustible cigarette abstinence. However, the small sample size and self-reported tobacco use measures may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Citation
Soule, Eric K., Sarah F. Maloney, Mignonne C. Guy, Thomas Eissenberg, and Pebbles Fagan. “User-Identified Electronic Cigarette Behavioral Strategies and Device Characteristics for Cigarette Smoking Reduction.” Addictive Behaviors 79 (April 2018): 93–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.12.010.
