Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
Centre for Addictive Behaviours Research, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, London, UK.
Drug Alcohol Rev. 2019 Jan;38(1):68-75. doi: 10.1111/dar.12876. Epub 2018 Nov 28.
E-cigarettes are the most popular aid to quitting smoking in the UK. Although many smokers quit, relapse is common. Historically, the literature has reported strong associations between tobacco smoking lapse and relapse following a quit attempt. This article aims to explore how smoking lapse is experienced by those who vape to quit smoking.
A purposive sample of 40 UK vapers were matched to a sampling frame from a representative sample of UK quitters. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted. Data were thematically analysed iteratively situating reported experiences of smoking lapse within narrative descriptions of vaping. Iterative categorization was used as a technique to further explore a subset of data specifically focused on smoking lapse.
Analysis revealed that smoking lapse is perceived qualitatively differently when using e-cigarettes as compared to past quit attempts. Having the pleasurable alternative of vaping meant that full relapse to smoking was not inevitable. Instead, lapses were perceived as 'permissive' or 'purposive', intentional and contextualised, or for some as unintentional, with the resulting emotional response negatively reinforcing ongoing tobacco smoking abstinence.
Our novel findings suggest that the role of tobacco smoking lapse in relation to relapse status may be theoretically redefined, drawing on data from vapers. These findings question the utility of previous theories of the role of smoking lapse in the relapse process. For ex-smokers, vaping offers a pleasurable, viable pharmacological, but also social and psychological, substitution option for smoking and potentially powerfully alters the experience and threat of any lapse.
电子烟是英国最受欢迎的戒烟辅助工具。虽然许多吸烟者成功戒烟，但复吸率很高。从历史上看，文献报道了吸烟者在戒烟尝试后出现吸烟间断和复吸之间存在强烈关联。本文旨在探讨那些通过吸电子烟来戒烟的人如何体验吸烟间断。
对 40 名英国电子烟使用者进行了有针对性的抽样，这些抽样与英国戒烟者代表性抽样框架相匹配。进行了半结构化定性访谈。数据通过主题分析进行迭代，将报告的吸烟间断经历置于吸电子烟的叙述描述中。迭代分类被用作一种技术，以进一步探索专门针对吸烟间断的一组数据子集。
分析表明，与过去的戒烟尝试相比，使用电子烟时，吸烟间断在质量上被感知为不同。有了吸电子烟这种令人愉悦的替代选择，完全复吸到吸烟状态就不是不可避免的。相反，间断被视为“允许”或“有目的”，是有意图和有背景的，或者对一些人来说是无意识的，由此产生的情绪反应会对持续的烟草戒烟产生负面影响。
我们的新发现表明，从电子烟使用者的数据中，可以从理论上重新定义与复吸状态相关的吸烟间断作用。这些发现质疑了先前关于吸烟间断在复吸过程中的作用的理论的有效性。对于已经戒烟的人来说，吸电子烟提供了一种令人愉悦、可行的药理学替代选择，但也是一种社会和心理替代选择，用于吸烟，并且可能会有力地改变任何间断的体验和威胁。
