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Review
. 2025 Jun 18.
doi: 10.1007/s11739-025-04014-1. Online ahead of print.

'E-cigarette smoking' is a misleading term: a critical review of its use in academic literature

Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi  1 , Nafisat Dasola Jimoh  2 , Chimwemwe Ngoma  3
Affiliations
Review

'E-cigarette smoking' is a misleading term: a critical review of its use in academic literature

Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi et al. Intern Emerg Med. .

Abstract

The terminology used to describe e-cigarette-related behaviours in academic literature is critical for accurate communication and interpretation. Despite fundamental differences between e-cigarette use (vaping) and tobacco smoking, terms such as "e-cigarette smoking" have been used to refer to vaping, potentially conflating the two behaviours. This study aims to assess the use of the term "e-cigarette smoking" and its variants in peer-reviewed literature and discuss the implications of their usage. A review of academic literature published between 2015 and 2024 was conducted using Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and ProQuest databases. Searches included terms such as "e-cigarette smoking" and related variants, with database-specific filters applied to exclude irrelevant document types. A supplementary search in Google Scholar was performed to capture broader usage, including grey literature. The search identified 613 articles in Embase, 462 in Web of Science, 407 in ScienceDirect, 282 in Scopus and 121 in ProQuest, highlighting the widespread use of "e-cigarette smoking" and related terms. The Google Scholar search returned approximately 4680 results, reflecting the widespread and informal use of "e-cigarette smoking" across diverse publication types, including grey literature. The term has also appeared in highly cited and recent studies in ways that conflate e-cigarette use with smoking, obscuring the fundamental differences between these distinct behaviours. The use of "e-cigarette smoking" and its variants in academic literature has notable implications for research integrity, addiction science, public health, and policy. Misleading terminology can contribute to distorted understandings of nicotine dependence, complicate harm reduction strategies, and risk shaping restrictive policies that fail to differentiate e-cigarette use from smoking. Standardising terminology in academic literature is essential to ensure accurate communication, support evidence-based policymaking, and enhance public health initiatives.

Keywords: E-cigarette; Public health; Public health communication; Science communication; Smoking.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi received funding in the past through the Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship and the Kevin Molloy Fellowship, both awarded by Knowledge-Action-Change (KAC) UK, an independent public health organization. Nafisat Dasola Jimoh is currently an enhanced scholar in the Tobacco Harm Reduction Programme of KAC. Chimwemwe Ngoma is a consultant to KAC. KAC receives funding from Global Action to End Smoking (GA), an independent U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) grantmaking organization that supports Health & Science Research, Cessation Education, and Agricultural Transformation initiatives. This research was conducted independently and is not linked to any prior funding sources. Ethics approval: No ethical approval was sought. Not required. Patient and public involvement: Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research. Human and animal rights and informed consent: No ethical approval or informed consent was required by the authors for this research, as it qualifies for exemption from human subjects’ research.

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