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Observational Study
. 2015 Feb:41:106-11.
doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.09.031. Epub 2014 Sep 28.

Hospitalized smokers' expectancies for electronic cigarettes versus tobacco cigarettes

Peter S Hendricks  1 , Mallory G Cases  2 , Christopher B Thorne  3 , JeeWon Cheong  4 , Kathleen F Harrington  5 , Connie L Kohler  6 , William C Bailey  7
Affiliations
Observational Study

Hospitalized smokers' expectancies for electronic cigarettes versus tobacco cigarettes

Peter S Hendricks et al. Addict Behav. 2015 Feb.

Abstract

Introduction: The objectives of the current study were to compare hospitalized smokers' expectancies for electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) against their expectancies for tobacco cigarettes and evaluate relationships between e-cigarette expectancies and intention to use e-cigarettes.

Methods: Analysis of baseline data from a one-year longitudinal observational study. The setting was a tertiary care academic center hospital in the Southeastern U.S. Participants were 958 hospitalized tobacco cigarette smokers. A questionnaire of e-cigarette expectancies based on the Brief Smoking Consequences Questionnaire-Adult (BSCQ-A) was developed and administered along with the original, tobacco-specific, BSCQ-A. Intention to use e-cigarettes was assessed with a single 10-point Likert scale item.

Results: Participants reported significantly weaker expectancies for e-cigarettes relative to tobacco cigarettes on all 10 BSCQ-A scales. Participants held sizably weaker expectancies that e-cigarettes pose health risks (p<.001, Cohen's d=-2.07), relieve negative affect (p<.001, Cohen's d=-1.01), satisfy the desire for nicotine (p<.001, Cohen's d=-.83), and taste pleasant (p<.001, Cohen's d=-.73). Among the strongest predictors of intention to use e-cigarettes were greater expectancies that e-cigarettes taste pleasant (p<.001, adjusted β=.34), relieve negative affect (p<.001, adjusted β=.32), and satisfy the desire for nicotine (p<.001, adjusted β=.31).

Conclusions: Hospitalized tobacco smokers expect fewer negative and positive outcomes from e-cigarettes versus tobacco cigarettes. This suggests that e-cigarettes might be viable though imperfect substitutes for tobacco cigarettes.

Keywords: E-cigarettes; Electronic cigarettes; Expectancies; Hospitalized smokers; Smoking.

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