Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2021 Aug 18;23(9):1490-1497. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntab033.
There is limited research on the role of flavors in nicotine vaping products (NVPs) in relation to smoking. We examined patterns of flavor use in NVPs in relation to progression toward quitting.
Data come from 886 concurrent users of NVPs (at least weekly) and cigarettes who were first surveyed in 2016 and then successfully recontacted in 2018 as part of the ITC 4CV Surveys conducted in Australia, Canada, England, and the United States. Participants were asked about their main vaping flavor categorized as: (1) tobacco or unflavored, (2) menthol or mint flavored, and (3) "sweet" flavors (eg, fruit or candy). We examined whether flavor was associated with progression toward quitting smoking between survey years.
Overall, 11.1% of baseline concurrent users quit smoking by 2018. Compared with users of tobacco flavors, those vaping "sweet" flavors were more likely to quit smoking between surveys (13.8% vs. 9.6%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-2.58, p < .05), but those using menthol flavors were no more likely to quit smoking (8.3% vs. 9.6%, aOR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.43-1.47, p = .69). Among those who had quit smoking in 2018, 52.0% were still vaping, which was lower than the 65.8% among continuing smokers (aOR = 0.60, 95% CI 0.39-0.92, p = .02). Sweet flavor users were no more likely to continue vaping compared with tobacco flavor users, either for those continuing smoking or those having quit smoking by 2018. There was a net shift away from tobacco flavor among those who continued to vape at follow-up.
Use of fruit and other sweet flavored e-liquids is positively related to smokers' transition away from cigarettes.
With multiple jurisdictions considering limiting or banning the sale of flavored NVPs, it is important to consider how such policies may impact smokers using NVPs to transition away from cigarette smoking. Our results indicate that vapers who used sweet flavors were more likely to transition away from cigarette smoking and quit cigarette use, at least in the short term, compared with those who used tobacco or unflavored NVPs. Randomized clinical trials are needed to establish if the observed association between use of flavored e-liquids and smoking cessation is due to self-selection or is truly causal.
关于口味在尼古丁电子烟产品（NVP）与吸烟关系中的作用，相关研究较少。我们研究了 NVP 口味使用模式与戒烟进展之间的关系。
数据来自于 2016 年首次调查的 886 名同时使用 NVP（每周至少一次）和香烟的参与者，然后在 2018 年作为澳大利亚、加拿大、英国和美国进行的 ITC 4CV 调查的一部分成功重新联系到这些参与者。参与者被问到他们主要的电子烟口味，分为：（1）烟草或无味，（2）薄荷或薄荷味，和（3）“甜”味（如水果或糖果味）。我们研究了在调查年份之间，口味是否与戒烟进展有关。
总体而言，基线时的 11.1%的同期使用者在 2018 年戒烟。与使用烟草口味的使用者相比，使用“甜”味电子烟的使用者更有可能在调查期间戒烟（13.8%比 9.6%；调整后的优势比[aOR] = 1.61，95%置信区间[CI] 1.01-2.58，p <.05），而使用薄荷味电子烟的使用者则没有更有可能戒烟（8.3%比 9.6%，aOR = 0.87，95%CI 0.43-1.47，p =.69）。在 2018 年戒烟的人中，52.0%仍在使用电子烟，这低于继续吸烟者的 65.8%（aOR = 0.60，95%CI 0.39-0.92，p =.02）。与使用烟草口味的使用者相比，甜口味使用者继续使用电子烟的可能性也没有更高，无论是对于继续吸烟的使用者还是在 2018 年戒烟的使用者。在随访中，继续使用电子烟的人中，烟草口味的电子烟使用量呈净下降趋势。
水果和其他甜味电子烟液的使用与吸烟者从香烟过渡有关。
随着多个司法管辖区考虑限制或禁止销售调味 NVP，重要的是要考虑此类政策可能如何影响使用 NVP 从吸烟过渡的吸烟者。我们的结果表明，与使用烟草或无味 NVP 的使用者相比，使用甜口味电子烟的使用者更有可能从香烟过渡并戒烟，至少在短期内是这样。需要进行随机临床试验来确定观察到的使用调味电子烟与戒烟之间的关联是否是由于自我选择还是真正的因果关系。
