Exploring smokers' e-cigarette awareness, perceptions and use intentions

Background:  Electronic cigarettes (i.e., “e-cigarettes”) are an innovation aimed at capitalizing on smokers’ desires for cigarette alternatives, and have the potential to significantly impact public health if they are widely adopted. Several general population survey studies have suggested that smokers’ awareness and trial of e-cigarettes have been growing rapidly. However, few of these have provided additional contextual information or described smokers’ future e-cigarette use intentions given that they were not designed to study e-cigarettes. This presentation will share data from one of the first e-cigarette focused surveys of smokers.

Methods:  Results will be based on a 2014 e-cigarette focused survey of 500 current smokers recruited from GfK’s Knowledge Networks research panel, which is designed to be nationally representative.

Results: This presentation will describe smokers’ exposure to e-cigarettes through various sources (e.g., friends/family, advertising, news); what e-cigarette risk information sources smokers would most likely go to and trust (e.g., doctor, Internet, package content); risk perceptions and reasons for these (e.g., heard it from friend, “common sense”), and intentions to use e-cigarettes in the future, including preferences for different style types (e.g., cigalikes, made by tobacco company). The context, experience, and reasons for ever users’ initial use of e-cigarettes (e.g., tried it from a friend out of curiosity, found it enjoyable) will also be described, as well as reasons motivating future interest in trying e-cigarettes.

Conclusions: Smokers’ e-cigarette use will likely continue to grow. Research should continue to monitor this trend and further study those factors influencing smokers’ e-cigarette perceptions and interest.