Silla Kabay, Beard Emma, Shahab Lion
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
BMC Public Health. 2014 Dec 22;14:1311. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-1311.
Smokers who are unwilling or unable to quit smoking may benefit from using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for harm reduction. This may include the partial or complete substitution of cigarettes with NRT. A taxonomy of the characteristics of those using NRT for harm reduction would be helpful in tailoring advice and treatment. Although attempts to categorize those using NRT for harm reduction have been made, these have largely been based on quantitative data. In order to provide further in-depth exploration of views, beliefs and experiences, the current study probed issues surrounding NRT and harm reduction qualitatively to better understand barriers and facilitators to this approach.
Three groups of participants (n = 15) were recruited from a student sample: current smokers with a history of NRT use, smokers without a history of NRT use, and ex-smokers with a history of NRT use. Participants were asked about their demographic characteristics, smoking behaviours, intention and perceived ability to quit smoking, awareness and use of NRT, beliefs about the health consequences of using NRT, and the safety and efficacy of NRT, using semi-structured telephone interviews.
Twenty-four themes were identified; these themes were clustered into three main issues of cross-cutting themes: attitudes towards smoking and motivation to quit; smoking reduction and quit attempts; and beliefs, use and concerns about NRT. Those with a history of NRT use were more motivated and engaged with the quitting process than non-users. However, irrespective of smoking status and past NRT use, all participants showed misperceptions about NRT, such as the health consequences associated with NRT use.
NRT users are more motivated to quit smoking than non-users and are more likely to employ techniques to assist their cessation attempts. The majority of smokers have misperceptions regarding the safety and efficacy of NRT which may act as a barrier to its usage.
不愿意或无法戒烟的吸烟者可能会从使用尼古丁替代疗法（NRT）以减少危害中获益。这可能包括用NRT部分或完全替代香烟。对使用NRT进行危害减少者的特征进行分类，将有助于量身定制建议和治疗方案。尽管已经尝试对使用NRT进行危害减少者进行分类，但这些分类大多基于定量数据。为了进一步深入探讨观点、信念和经历，本研究对围绕NRT和危害减少的问题进行了定性探究，以更好地理解这种方法的障碍和促进因素。
从学生样本中招募了三组参与者（n = 15）：有NRT使用史的当前吸烟者、无NRT使用史的吸烟者以及有NRT使用史的戒烟者。通过半结构化电话访谈，询问参与者他们的人口统计学特征、吸烟行为、戒烟意图和感知能力、NRT的知晓和使用情况、对使用NRT健康后果的信念以及NRT的安全性和有效性。
确定了24个主题；这些主题被归纳为三个主要的交叉主题问题：对吸烟的态度和戒烟动机；减少吸烟和戒烟尝试；以及对NRT的信念、使用和担忧。有NRT使用史的人比未使用者更有动力参与戒烟过程。然而，无论吸烟状况和过去的NRT使用情况如何，所有参与者对NRT都存在误解，例如与使用NRT相关的健康后果。
NRT使用者比非使用者更有动力戒烟，并且更有可能采用技术来辅助他们的戒烟尝试。大多数吸烟者对NRT的安全性和有效性存在误解，这可能成为其使用的障碍。
