What do medical students know about e-cigarettes? A cross-sectional survey from one U.S. medical school

Introduction:
This article reports the findings of a survey conducted on medical students at the University of Minnesota regarding their knowledge, attitudes, and experiences with e-cigarettes. The study aimed to identify gaps in medical education that could inform curriculum development for future physicians.

Key Points:

* The survey had a response rate of 66.9% and included 658 medical students.
* 14.7% of participants had ever tried an e-cigarette, and 0.6% were current users.
* 21.6% of participants had immediate family members or close friends who use e-cigarettes.
* 84.7% of participants stated they had not received any education about e-cigarettes in medical school.
* 95% of respondents did not feel like they had received adequate education about e-cigarettes in medical school.
* Participants were more likely to think e-cigarettes have lower risk of causing cancer than traditional cigarettes and are helpful for smoking cessation if they were male or had ever tried e-cigarettes.
* MS3s and MS4s were more likely to correctly report that e-cigarettes were not FDA approved for smoking cessation and report higher confidence discussing traditional cigarettes with patients than MS1s.

Main Message:
The study highlights the need for medical schools to incorporate education about e-cigarettes into their curriculum. The findings suggest that medical students are currently ill-equipped to discuss e-cigarette use with their patients. As the prevalence of e-cigarette use continues to increase, it is imperative that medical students receive more education about this important public health issue. The development of an encompassing tobacco/nicotine curriculum that includes e-cigarettes is urgently needed to ensure that future physicians are adequately prepared to confidently discuss all forms of nicotine products with their patients.

Hinderaker, Katie, David V. Power, Sharon Allen, Ellen Parker, and Kolawole Okuyemi. “What Do Medical Students Know about E-Cigarettes? A Cross-Sectional Survey from One U.S. Medical School.” BMC Medical Education 18, no. 1 (December 2018): 32. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1134-1.