- Title
- Electronic cigarettes or vaping : are there any differences in the profiles, use and perceptions between a developed and a developing country?
- Creator
- Rahman, Muhammad Aziz; Joseph, Bindu; Nimmi, Naima
- Date
- 2022
- Type
- Text; Journal article
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/187855
- Identifier
- vital:17159
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031673
- Identifier
- ISSN:1661-7827 (ISSN)
- Abstract
- The use of electronic cigarettes or vaping is currently increasing in popularity globally. Debate continues regarding their potential role for smoking cessation. We aimed to compare the profiles, use and perceptions of using e-cigarettes amongst online forum users in a developed and a developing country. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among members of different popular online forums in Australia and Bangladesh who were current or ex-users of e-cigarettes. There were 422 study participants, 261 (62%) from Australia and 161 (38%) from Bangladesh. The mean age was 36.3 (±12) years and 83% were men. Australians were more likely to be exclusive users of e-cigarettes (70% vs. 30%, AOR 3.05 [95% CI 1.63–5.71]), but less likely to be dual users of smoking and e-cigarettes (43% vs. 57%, 0.36 [0.19–0.69]); they were also more likely to mention that the perceived reasons for using were their low cost, good taste/flavour, safety and assistance in reducing or quitting smoking (66% vs. 34%, 5.10 [2.04–12.8]), but less likely to mention a social/cool image as a reason for use (23% vs. 77%, 0.11 [0.01–0.87]) compared with Bangladeshi participants. About two-thirds of the participants in both countries perceived the use of e-cigarettes as less addictive than cigarettes and more than three-quarters perceived them as less harmful. E-cigarette users in Australia were more likely to use them to reduce or quit cigarettes compared with those in Bangladesh, and dual use was common in Bangladesh. These findings warrant the consideration of precautions for promoting e-cigarettes as a harm reduction strategy for smoking cessation in developing countries, such as Bangladesh. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Publisher
- MDPI
- Relation
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 19, no. 3 (2022), p.
- Rights
- All metadata describing materials held in, or linked to, the repository is freely available under a CC0 licence
- Rights
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Rights
- Copyright © 2022 by the authors
- Rights
- Open Access
- Subject
- MD Multidisciplinary; Australia; Bangladesh; E-cigarettes; Harm reduction; Nicotine; Tobacco; Vaping
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