Mapping Public Concerns of Electronic Cigarettes in China.

Introduction:
This text presents a study on the public concerns related to electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in China from 2011 to 2014. The study uses the Index of Electronic Cigarette Search (ICS) to measure the public concern, which is constructed by the online query of e-cigarette-related words/phrases in Baidu, the most popular search engine in China. The study aims to reveal the development of the e-cigarette market and potential health burden at the provincial level in China, which can inform the regulation of the e-cigarette market and the allocation of medical resources in the future.

Key Points:

* The study found that e-cigarette concerns in all Chinese provinces increased over the time span.
* The ICS is positively associated with the number of beds in medical institutions and road density of the province, but negatively associated with the proportion of urban population.
* The study controlled for confounding effects rising from time-invariant city-level factors using the fixed effects model.
* The results showed that healthcare development, infrastructure development, and urbanization are pivotal in shaping e-cigarette concerns at the provincial level in China.
* The study also conducted a robustness check using ICS2, which yielded results consistent with ICS1.
* The study identified some limitations, such as the potential underestimation of public concerns about e-cigarettes, the negative effect of urbanization, and the correlation between the search index and active users.
* The study suggests that researchers and policy makers can go further into this topic, not only on the concern in general but also on the specific type of concern and how different structural factors are associated with them.

Main Message:
The study highlights the importance of studying public concerns related to e-cigarettes at the macro level, particularly in low-income countries such as China. The results suggest that the development of healthcare, infrastructure, and urbanization are crucial in shaping e-cigarette concerns, which can inform the regulation of the e-cigarette market and the allocation of medical resources. The study also acknowledges some limitations and suggests further research to deepen the understanding of the public concerns about e-cigarettes in China. Overall, the study provides valuable insights for regulatory matters related to e-cigarettes in China and other low-income countries.

he G, Lin X, Ju G, Chen Y. Mapping Public Concerns of Electronic Cigarettes in China. Journal of psychoactive drugs. 2020;52(1):13-19. doi:10.1080/02791072.2019.1707334