Summary
Introduction:
This article presents a study examining the relationship between US adult smokers' perceived relative risk of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and their behavioral transitions between cigarettes and ENDS. The study uses data from the Population assessment of Tobacco and health (PaTh) survey, waves 1 through 5.
Key Points:
* The perceived risk reduction motivates smokers to switch to ENDS.
* The proportion of US smokers perceiving ENDS as less harmful than cigarettes continually decreased from 2014 to 2019.
* Current smokers with the belief that ENDS are less harmful than cigarettes were more likely to adopt ENDS and switch completely to ENDS in the subsequent wave.
* among smokers who had switched to ENDS within the past year, such beliefs predicted avoidance of resumption of smoking in the next wave.
* The study controlled for sociodemographic characteristics such as race/ethnicity, age, sex, educational attainment, marital status, and household income.
* The study used weighted GEE models to estimate the population-averaged effects of risk perception while accounting for the repeated-measure design.
* The analyses considered multiple steps in the process of switching, including adoption, switching away from smoking with ENDS, and maintaining switched status.
Main Message:
The study emphasizes the importance of addressing the growing misperception about ENDS to encourage smokers' switching to ENDS. This could contribute to public health by reducing smoking-related harm. The findings suggest that beliefs about the relative harms of ENDS compared to smoking appear to be strongly associated with harm-reduction behaviors, from adoption of ENDS to switching completely and maintaining switched status. however, the correlational nature of the data precludes strong causal inferences, and further research is needed to confirm these findings.
Citation
Kim S, Shiffman S, Sembower Ma. US adult smokers’ perceived relative risk on ENDS and its effects on their transitions between cigarettes and ENDS. BMC public health. 2022;22(1):1771. doi:10.1186/s12889-022-14168-8
