Awareness, Trial, and Current Use of Electronic Cigarettes in 10 Countries: Findings from the ITC Project

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Gravely, S; Fong, GT; Cummings, KM; Yan, M; Quah, ACK; Borland, R; Yong, H-H; Hitchman, SC; McNeill, A; Hammond, D; ...Date
2014-11-01Source Title
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public HealthPublisher
MDPIUniversity of Melbourne Author/s
Borland, RonaldAffiliation
Melbourne School of Psychological SciencesMetadata
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Journal ArticleCitations
Gravely, S., Fong, G. T., Cummings, K. M., Yan, M., Quah, A. C. K., Borland, R., Yong, H. -H., Hitchman, S. C., McNeill, A., Hammond, D., Thrasher, J. F., Willemsen, M. C., Seo, H. G., Jiang, Y., Cavalcante, T., Perez, C., Omar, M. & Hummel, K. (2014). Awareness, Trial, and Current Use of Electronic Cigarettes in 10 Countries: Findings from the ITC Project. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH, 11 (11), pp.11691-11704. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph111111691.Access Status
Open AccessAbstract
BACKGROUND: In recent years, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have generated considerable interest and debate on the implications for tobacco control and public health. Although the rapid growth of e-cigarettes is global, at present, little is known about awareness and use. This paper presents self-reported awareness, trial and current use of e-cigarettes in 10 countries surveyed between 2009 and 2013; for six of these countries, we present the first data on e-cigarettes from probability samples of adult smokers. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis of probability samples of adult (≥ 18 years) current and former smokers participating in the International Tobacco Control (ITC) surveys from 10 countries. Surveys were administered either via phone, face-to-face interviews, or the web. Survey questions included sociodemographic and smoking-related variables, and questions about e-cigarette awareness, trial and current use. RESULTS: There was considerable cross-country variation by year of data collection and for awareness of e-cigarettes (Netherlands (2013: 88%), Republic of Korea (2010: 79%), United States (2010: 73%), Australia (2013: 66%), Malaysia (2011: 62%), United Kingdom (2010: 54%), Canada (2010: 40%), Brazil (2013: 37%), Mexico (2012: 34%), and China (2009: 31%)), in self-reports of ever having tried e-cigarettes (Australia, (20%), Malaysia (19%), Netherlands (18%), United States (15%), Republic of Korea (11%), United Kingdom (10%), Brazil (8%), Mexico (4%), Canada (4%), and China (2%)), and in current use (Malaysia (14%), Republic of Korea (7%), Australia (7%), United States (6%), United Kingdom (4%), Netherlands (3%), Canada (1%), and China (0.05%)) [corrected]. CONCLUSIONS: The cross-country variability in awareness, trial, and current use of e-cigarettes is likely due to a confluence of country-specific market factors, tobacco control policies and regulations (e.g., the legal status of e-cigarettes and nicotine), and the survey timing along the trajectory of e-cigarette awareness and trial/use in each country. These ITC results constitute an important snapshot of an early stage of what appears to be a rapid progression of global e-cigarette use.
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