142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Young adults' health beliefs and safety concerns regarding the use of electronic cigarettes: Evidence from Eastern Europe

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Oana M. Pop, MA , Community and Behavioral Health Department, Cluj School of Public Health, Center for Health Policy and Public Health, Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences, Babes-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Angela Cazacu-Stratu, PhD , 165 Stefan the Great Boulevard, The State University of Medicine and Pharmacy “NicolaeTestemitanu”, Chișinău, Moldova
Melinda Penzes, MD , Department of Public Health, Semmelweis University Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
Paula Alexa, BA , Community and Behavioral Heath Department, University of Iowa, Iowa City , IA, IA
  
Background: Despite no conclusive evidence on their safety, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are being marketed as a safer alternative to regular cigarettes. In this context, it is essential to understand young adults’ health beliefs regarding the use of e-cigarettes. The aim of this study is to assess concerns regarding the use of e-cigarettes in a sample of Romanian and Moldovan young adults, depending on their regular cigarette smoking status.

Methods: Data were collected in Romania and Moldova, between October and December 2013, using a cross-sectional design. An online survey was used to evaluate the health risks attributed to e-cigarettes by university students aged 18-27, who consented to participate in the study (n=720). Descriptive statistics, chi-square and independent samples t-tests have been employed to meet the study’s aim.

Results: Approximately 90% of the respondents are aware of the existence of e-cigarettes, 31.7% have experimented with them, and 2.1% are currently using them. Irrespective of their smoking status, 26% of the sample considers that e-cigarettes do not contain any harmful substances. A statistically significant relationship has been found between regular cigarette use and experimentation with e-cigarettes (χ2(2)=187.667, p<.001). When compared with regular cigarette users, non-smokers think that e-cigarettes can lead to dependence (p=.021), are attractive for children (p<.001), and should be completely banned (p<.001).

Conclusions: Public health professionals could capitalize on the non-smoker young adults’ safety concerns regarding the use of e-cigarettes, to inform interventions deterring the uptake of these products.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe current evidence on the health-related risks and safety concerns of using electronic cigarettes, Discuss the health-related beliefs of young adults regarding the use of electronic cigarettes, Identify strategies to be used in public health interventions aiming to deter e-cigarette use by young adults;

Keyword(s): Tobacco Control, Youth

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a qualified to be the presenter of this abstract as I have worked to clean and analyze the data which has been used for this study.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4370.0: Beyond Boundaries: Global Tobacco Control