Faculty of Pharmacy, Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan.
School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2021 Feb 5;16(1):10. doi: 10.1186/s13722-021-00219-9.
Recently, electronic cigarette (e-cig) usage has increased significantly, making it a potentially effective smoking cessation tool. In Muslim countries, most people who use e-cigarettes fast the month of Ramadan, which results in intermittent fasting. This study aims to reveal the severity of e-cig withdrawal symptoms among users during this intermittent fasting period.
A self-administered survey was developed and validated to solicit anonymous responses from e-cig users living in Jordan, through a cross-sectional study design. Participants were recruited through social media resources. Severity scores of physical (out of 11) and psychological (out of 8) withdrawal symptoms for each participant were assessed and calculated for each participant, depending on the symptoms reported.
A convenience sample (n = 523) of e-cig adult users were recruited. The majority of the participants were males (96.4%) aged between 18 and 40 years (86.4%). Many participants replaced tobacco smoking with e-cig (53.5%) in order to help them stop smoking. More than half of the participants experienced relatively weak physical (0.82 ± 1.78) and psychological (1.24 ± 1.89) withdrawal symptoms during the month of fasting. Most of the participants (63.2%) preferred to engage themselves with a busy schedule to tolerate the related withdrawal symptoms they experienced.
E-cigs could play a vital role in smoking cessation among tobacco smokers during intermittent fasting. Ramadan offers a good opportunity for smokers to quit, as the reported physical and psychological e-cig withdrawal symptoms were found to be relatively weak. Awareness and behavioral interventions would help clarify the effect of e-cigs and help determine alternative ways to cease smoking.
最近，电子烟的使用显著增加，使其成为一种潜在有效的戒烟工具。在穆斯林国家，大多数使用电子烟的人在斋月期间斋戒，这导致间歇性禁食。本研究旨在揭示在这个间歇性禁食期间，电子烟使用者出现的电子烟戒断症状的严重程度。
通过横断面研究设计，开发并验证了一份自我管理的问卷，以从居住在约旦的电子烟使用者中征集匿名回复。通过社交媒体资源招募参与者。根据报告的症状，评估和计算每个参与者的身体（11 项中的 1 项）和心理（8 项中的 1 项）戒断症状的严重程度得分。
招募了一个方便样本（n=523）的成年电子烟使用者。大多数参与者是男性（96.4%），年龄在 18 至 40 岁之间（86.4%）。许多参与者用电子烟代替吸烟（53.5%），以帮助他们戒烟。超过一半的参与者在禁食期间经历了相对较弱的身体（0.82±1.78）和心理（1.24±1.89）戒断症状。大多数参与者（63.2%）选择让自己忙碌起来，以忍受他们所经历的相关戒断症状。
在斋月期间，电子烟可能在帮助吸烟者戒烟方面发挥重要作用。报告的电子烟戒断症状的身体和心理方面相对较弱，这表明吸烟者在斋月期间有机会戒烟。提高认识和行为干预将有助于阐明电子烟的效果，并帮助确定替代的戒烟方法。
