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. 2017 Sep 8;17(1):686.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4671-3.

Electronic cigarette use behaviors and motivations among smokers and non-smokers

Thomas E Sussan  1   2 , Fatima G Shahzad  1 , Eefa Tabassum  1 , Joanna E Cohen  3 , Robert A Wise  4 , Michael J Blaha  5 , Janet T Holbrook  6 , Shyam Biswal  7
Affiliations

Electronic cigarette use behaviors and motivations among smokers and non-smokers

Thomas E Sussan et al. BMC Public Health. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: The use of electronic cigarettes (EC) has risen exponentially over the past decade, including among never smokers, and ECs are now the most popular tobacco product among teenagers in the US. While, EC manufacturers utilize numerous marketing strategies to target both smokers and non-smokers, it is unclear how perceptions and behaviors differ between these two groups.

Methods: We conducted a survey of 320 adults either via online surveys or in Baltimore vape shops to determine demographics, behaviors, perceptions, and motivations underlying use of ECs.

Results: Our survey respondents were predominantly young, Caucasian males, 74% of whom identified themselves as former smokers, while 20% identified as current smokers and 6% were never smokers. Former smokers reported a longer history of EC use and higher nicotine concentrations than current smokers. For former and current smokers, the primary motivation for EC use was assistance to quit smoking, and nearly half indicated that they plan to reduce their nicotine concentration and eventually quit using ECs. Among former smokers, self-reports on use and measures of dependence were consistent with nicotine replacement as their primary motivation. The majority of former and current smokers also reported that their respiratory health had improved as a result of EC use, although this effect was stronger for former smokers. Never smokers reported less frequent EC use and dependence compared to former and current smokers. Their motivations for use were more commonly for enjoyment and popularity, and they displayed a reduced desire to eventually quit using ECs.

Conclusions: These responses provide insight into the underlying thoughts and behaviors of smoking and non-smoking EC users and also suggest that never smoking EC users are an emerging demographic with different motivations and perceptions than those of current and former smokers.

Keywords: Baltimore; Electronic cigarettes; Maryland; Preferences; Smokers; Survey; Vapor.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Johns Hopkins University. Oral consent was provided by both the store owner/manager and survey participant.

Consent for publication

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Department or the U.S.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Agreement Chart for the duration of EC use and duration of smoking cessation among former smokers. The size of the rectangle at each time point reflects the marginal totals for each variable. The area of exact agreement is the dark square, which represents the number of individuals who reported the same duration for EC use and smoking cessation. The lighter rectangle represents the number of individuals who reported similar (within one category) durations. The white square area represents area of disagreement
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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