Pepper Jessica K, Ribisl Kurt M, Emery Sherry L, Brewer Noel T
Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Campus Box 7295, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 528 Westside Research Office Bldg., 1747 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60608, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014 Oct 3;11(10):10345-61. doi: 10.3390/ijerph111010345.
The aim of our study was to explore reasons for starting and then stopping electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use. Among a national sample of 3878 U.S. adults who reported ever trying e-cigarettes, the most common reasons for trying were curiosity (53%); because a friend or family member used, gave, or offered e-cigarettes (34%); and quitting or reducing smoking (30%). Nearly two-thirds (65%) of people who started using e-cigarettes later stopped using them. Discontinuation was more common among those whose main reason for trying was not goal-oriented (e.g., curiosity) than goal-oriented (e.g., quitting smoking) (81% vs. 45%, p < 0.001). The most common reasons for stopping e-cigarette use were that respondents were just experimenting (49%), using e-cigarettes did not feel like smoking cigarettes (15%), and users did not like the taste (14%). Our results suggest there are two categories of e-cigarette users: those who try for goal-oriented reasons and typically continue using and those who try for non-goal-oriented reasons and then typically stop using. Research should distinguish e-cigarette experimenters from motivated users whose decisions to discontinue relate to the utility or experience of use. Depending on whether e-cigarettes prove to be effective smoking cessation tools or whether they deter cessation, public health programs may need distinct strategies to reach and influence different types of users.
我们研究的目的是探究开始使用电子烟后又停止使用的原因。在全国范围内对3878名曾尝试过电子烟的美国成年人进行的抽样调查中，尝试使用电子烟的最常见原因是好奇（53%）；因为朋友或家人使用、赠送或提供电子烟（34%）；以及戒烟或减少吸烟量（30%）。近三分之二（65%）开始使用电子烟的人后来停止了使用。在那些尝试使用电子烟的主要原因不是以目标为导向（如好奇）的人群中，停止使用的情况比以目标为导向（如戒烟）的人群更为常见（81%对45%，p<0.001）。停止使用电子烟最常见的原因是受访者只是在尝试（49%）、使用电子烟感觉不像吸烟（15%）以及使用者不喜欢其味道（14%）。我们的研究结果表明，电子烟使用者可分为两类：一类是出于目标导向的原因尝试使用且通常会持续使用的人，另一类是出于非目标导向的原因尝试使用然后通常会停止使用的人。研究应区分电子烟的尝试使用者和有明确动机的使用者，后者停止使用的决定与使用的效用或体验有关。根据电子烟是否被证明是有效的戒烟工具，或者它们是否会阻碍戒烟，公共卫生项目可能需要不同的策略来接触和影响不同类型的使用者。
