Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2021 Aug 18;23(9):1611-1616. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntab040.
This study explores patterns of use of non-cigarette tobacco and nicotine products among adult cigarette smokers and recent ex-smokers. Along with cigarette smoking status we explore differences as a function of countries with different product regulations, gender, and age.
Data came from the ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Wave 3 Survey conducted between February-June 2020. The analytic sample consisted of 9112 current cigarette smokers (at least monthly) and 1184 recent ex-smokers (quit cigarettes ≤ 2 years) from Australia, Canada, England, and the United States. Respondents were asked about their cigarette smoking and current use of the following non-cigarette products: combustible tobacco (cigars, cigarillos, pipe, waterpipe); noncombustible tobacco (smokeless tobacco, and heated tobacco products [HTPs]); and non-tobacco nicotine products (nicotine vaping products [NVPs], nicotine replacement therapy [NRT], and nicotine pouches).
Overall, NVPs (13.7%) and NRT (10.9%) were the most reported nicotine products used, followed by cigars (5.3%), cigarillos (4.2%), and HTPs (3.5%). More than 21% current and recent ex-smokers of cigarettes reported using a non-tobacco nicotine product and noncombustible product, with respondents in England reporting the highest levels of use (>26%). Males, younger respondents, and current non-daily cigarette smokers were more likely to use non-cigarette nicotine products. Notably, 11.6% of ex-cigarette smokers were using other combustible tobacco.
Considerable percentages of current cigarette smokers and ex-smokers use non-cigarette nicotine products, and there are unexpectedly high levels of use of other combustible products by those recent ex-smokers of cigarettes which is concerning and has important implications for definitions of smoking cessation.
The tobacco product market has evolved to include new products which add to existing non-cigarette tobacco products creating a much more diverse nicotine market. This brief report provides a snapshot of use of various combustible and noncombustible nicotine-containing products among current cigarette smokers and recent ex-smokers in four western countries. Our results indicate that use of non-cigarette tobacco and nicotine products among these cigarette smokers and recent ex-smokers is not low, particularly among males, younger and non-daily cigarette smokers. Use of other combustible tobacco among respondents that recently quit cigarette smoking is concerning and has important implications for definitions of smoking cessation. Increased emphasis on researching non-cigarette nicotine product use is warranted in tobacco control generally and smoking cessation in particular.
本研究探讨了成年吸烟者和近期戒烟者使用非香烟烟草和尼古丁产品的模式。除了吸烟状况外，我们还根据不同产品监管、性别和年龄的国家进行了差异探索。
数据来自于 2020 年 2 月至 6 月期间进行的 ITC 四国吸烟和蒸气波 3 调查。分析样本包括来自澳大利亚、加拿大、英国和美国的 9112 名当前吸烟者（至少每月吸烟）和 1184 名近期戒烟者（戒烟≤2 年）。受访者被问及他们的吸烟情况以及当前使用以下非香烟产品的情况：可燃烟草（雪茄、小雪茄、烟斗、水烟）；非可燃烟草（无烟烟草和加热烟草产品 [HTP]）；和非烟草尼古丁产品（尼古丁蒸气产品 [NVP]、尼古丁替代疗法 [NRT] 和尼古丁袋）。
总体而言，NVP（13.7%）和 NRT（10.9%）是使用最多的尼古丁产品，其次是雪茄（5.3%）、小雪茄（4.2%）和 HTP（3.5%）。超过 21%的当前吸烟者和近期戒烟者报告使用了非烟草尼古丁产品和非可燃产品，其中英格兰的受访者使用率最高（>26%）。男性、年轻受访者和当前非每日吸烟的吸烟者更有可能使用非香烟尼古丁产品。值得注意的是，11.6%的戒烟者正在使用其他可燃烟草。
相当比例的当前吸烟者和戒烟者使用非香烟尼古丁产品，而且最近戒烟者使用其他可燃产品的水平出乎意料地高，这令人担忧，并对戒烟的定义产生重要影响。
烟草产品市场已经发展到包括新的产品，这些产品增加了现有的非香烟烟草产品，创造了一个更加多样化的尼古丁市场。本简要报告提供了当前吸烟者和近期戒烟者在四个西方国家使用各种可燃和非可燃尼古丁产品的情况概述。我们的结果表明，这些吸烟者和近期戒烟者对非香烟烟草和尼古丁产品的使用并不低，尤其是男性、年轻和非每日吸烟者。在最近戒烟的受访者中使用其他可燃烟草令人担忧，并对戒烟的定义产生重要影响。在烟草控制方面，特别是在戒烟方面，更加强调研究非香烟尼古丁产品的使用是有必要的。
