Sharma Ratika, Wigginton Britta, Meurk Carla, Ford Pauline, Gartner Coral E
School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia.
Policy and Epidemiology Group, Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, Locked Bag 500, Archerfield, QLD 4018, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016 Dec 22;14(1):7. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14010007.
This study aims to understand the nature and significance of online lay discussions about e-cigarettes and mental illness. We systematically searched the website Reddit.com using keywords related to e-cigarettes and mental illness. We coded relevant posts into themes under the framework of motivations for and limitations of vaping for people with mental illness. The thematic analysis included 3263 comments from 133 discussion threads. Six themes were classified as motivations to vape for people with mental illness: Self-medication; Quitting smoking; Freedom and control; Hobby; Social connectedness; and Motivation from caregivers and online communities. The limitations of vaping included: Unsatisfactory substitute for cigarettes and psychiatric medicines; Drug interactions; Nicotine addiction; Risks of e-liquid; Practical difficulties and Cost. People with mental illness; and their carers; use online discussion boards like Reddit to discuss the benefits and limitations of e-cigarettes for people with mental illness. Both positive and negative views exist. Media platforms like Reddit may shape the opinions of stakeholders and generate lay expertise about contentious health topics such as e-cigarettes. These findings have implications for policy and practice concerning assisting smokers with mental illness to reduce their health risk through switching to e-cigarettes.
本研究旨在了解关于电子烟与精神疾病的在线非专业讨论的性质和意义。我们使用与电子烟和精神疾病相关的关键词，在Reddit.com网站上进行了系统搜索。我们将相关帖子按照针对患有精神疾病者的吸电子烟动机和局限性框架编码为不同主题。主题分析涵盖了133个讨论线程中的3263条评论。针对患有精神疾病者的吸电子烟动机分为六个主题：自我治疗；戒烟；自由与控制；爱好；社交联系；以及来自护理人员和在线社区的动机。吸电子烟的局限性包括：无法令人满意地替代香烟和精神科药物；药物相互作用；尼古丁成瘾；电子烟液的风险；实际困难和成本。患有精神疾病者及其护理人员利用Reddit等在线讨论板，讨论电子烟对患有精神疾病者的益处和局限性。正反观点都存在。像Reddit这样的媒体平台可能会塑造利益相关者的观点，并产生关于电子烟等有争议健康话题的非专业专业知识。这些发现对协助患有精神疾病的吸烟者通过改用电子烟来降低健康风险的政策和实践具有启示意义。
