Mello Susan, Bigman Cabral A, Sanders-Jackson Ashley, Tan Andy S L
Department of Communication Studies, Northeastern University, Boston, MA;
Department of Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL;
Nicotine Tob Res. 2016 May;18(5):686-93. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntv232. Epub 2015 Oct 15.
There is ongoing debate over banning electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use (vaping) in public places. Many people perceive secondhand e-cigarette vapors (SHV) to be relatively harmless, which may affect their support for policies to restrict vaping in public places. Given that awareness of secondhand cigarette smoke risks predicts public support for clean air policies, we hypothesized that greater perceived harm of SHV to personal health would be associated with stronger support for vaping restrictions.
Data from 1449 US adults in a national online panel was collected from October to December 2013. Using multiple regressions, we predict a three-item scale of support for e-cigarette restricting policies in restaurants, bars/casinos/clubs, and parks using a two-item scale measuring concern and perceptions of harm to personal health from breathing SHV. Analyses adjusted for demographic covariates, smoking status and e-cigarette use, and were weighted to represent the US adult population.
Overall, respondents considered SHV exposure to be moderately harmful to their health and tended to favor restricting vaping in public places. Perceived harm of SHV to personal health was associated with support for vaping restrictions in public spaces (unstandardized regression coefficient, B = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.16, 0.20). Current smokers (vs. nonsmokers), those who ever tried e-cigarettes (vs. never), those who directly observed others vaping, and those with some college education (vs. high school or less) demonstrated less support for such policies.
This study shows that support for banning vaping in public spaces in the United States is positively associated with perceived health harms of SHV exposure. The findings suggest that continued monitoring of public perception of SHV harm and the accuracy of e-cigarette marketing claims about reduced harm would be needed to guide clean air policy decisions. With the emergence of new scientific evidence of the potential effects of SHV exposure, these results will serve as an important baseline of public perceptions and opinion during a time when such evidence was particularly limited.
关于在公共场所禁止使用电子烟（吸电子烟）的争论仍在继续。许多人认为二手电子烟烟雾相对无害，这可能会影响他们对在公共场所限制吸电子烟政策的支持。鉴于对二手香烟烟雾风险的认知预示着公众对清洁空气政策的支持，我们假设，人们认为二手电子烟烟雾对个人健康的危害越大，对限制吸电子烟的支持就越强。
2013年10月至12月，从一个全国性在线小组中收集了1449名美国成年人的数据。我们使用多元回归分析，通过一个由两项内容组成的量表来衡量人们对吸入二手电子烟烟雾对个人健康的担忧和认知，以此预测一个由三项内容组成的量表，该量表用于衡量人们对在餐厅、酒吧/赌场/俱乐部和公园实施电子烟限制政策的支持程度。分析对人口统计学协变量、吸烟状况和电子烟使用情况进行了调整，并进行加权以代表美国成年人口。
总体而言，受访者认为接触二手电子烟烟雾对他们的健康有中度危害，并且倾向于支持在公共场所限制吸电子烟。人们认为二手电子烟烟雾对个人健康的危害与对在公共场所限制吸电子烟的支持相关（非标准化回归系数，B = 0.18，95%置信区间 = 0.16，0.20）。当前吸烟者（与不吸烟者相比）以及那些曾经尝试过电子烟的人（与从未尝试过的人相比）、那些直接观察到他人吸电子烟的人以及接受过一些大学教育的人（与高中或以下学历的人相比）对这类政策的支持较少。
这项研究表明，在美国，对在公共场所禁止吸电子烟的支持与人们对接触二手电子烟烟雾的健康危害的认知呈正相关。研究结果表明，需要持续监测公众对二手电子烟烟雾危害的认知以及电子烟营销中关于危害降低的说法的准确性，以指导清洁空气政策的决策。随着有关接触二手电子烟烟雾潜在影响的新科学证据的出现，在这类证据特别有限的时期，这些结果将成为公众认知和意见的重要基线。
