Department of Psychology, California State University San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd., San Marcos, CA, 92096, USA.
Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Harm Reduct J. 2021 Sep 16;18(1):98. doi: 10.1186/s12954-021-00543-y.
Electronic cigarettes are a harm reduction strategy for individuals who smoke cigarettes who cannot or do not want to quit using FDA-approved cessation methods. Identifying perceived facilitators and barriers to switching among people who smoke cigarettes is critical to optimizing health impact. This is particularly important for the most dominant e-cigarette device, nicotine salt pod electronic cigarettes. We investigate the experience using pod electronic cigarettes among African American and Latinx individuals who smoke, the two largest racial/ethnic minority groups who experience significant health disparities.
From July 2018 to May 2019, adults who smoked cigarettes, age 21 + (N = 114; M age = 44.6, 59.6% male, 52.6% African American from Kansas City, 47.4% Latinx from San Diego) received JUUL-brand electronic cigarettes (referred to hereafter as JUUL) for 6 weeks and answered interview questions at week six. We inquired what they liked and disliked about using JUUL, what helped with switching and made switching difficult, future intentions for continued JUUL use, and how JUUL compared to past smoking reduction methods. Responses were coded into themes by independent raters. Theme frequencies were analyzed separately by race/ethnicity and week 6 use trajectory (exclusive JUUL use, dual JUUL and cigarette use, exclusive cigarette use).
Clean/smell was the aspect of using JUUL most commonly liked (23%), followed by convenience (19%). Coughing/harshness was a more common barrier to switching for African American (44%) than Latinx (9%), and for continuing cigarette use (56%) than for those who exclusively switched or dually used JUUL and combustible cigarettes (15-21%). Most (78% African American; 90% Latinx) reported that the benefits of using JUUL outweighed barriers, and this varied by JUUL use trajectory: 94% exclusive switch, 86% dual use, and 42% continued cigarette use. The majority said they would continue using JUUL to replace cigarettes (83% African American; 94% Latinx) and that JUUL worked better than other methods to reduce cigarettes (72%).
African American and Latinx individuals who smoked experience using pod electronic cigarettes was generally positive. Understanding facilitators and impediments to switching to electronic cigarettes among racial/ethnic minority people who smoke can inform harm reduction interventions and reduce tobacco-related health disparities. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03511001 posted April 27, 2018.
对于无法或不愿使用 FDA 批准的戒烟方法的吸烟人群来说，电子烟是一种减少危害的策略。了解吸烟人群转向电子烟的感知促进因素和障碍对于优化健康影响至关重要。这对于最主要的电子烟设备，尼古丁盐弹电子烟尤其重要。我们调查了非裔美国人和拉丁裔烟民使用弹电子烟的体验，这两个最大的种族/族裔少数群体经历了显著的健康差距。
从 2018 年 7 月到 2019 年 5 月，年龄在 21 岁及以上的成年吸烟者（N=114；M 年龄=44.6，59.6%为男性，来自堪萨斯城的 52.6%为非裔美国人，来自圣地亚哥的 47.4%为拉丁裔）接受了 6 周 JUUL 品牌电子烟（简称 JUUL），并在第 6 周回答了访谈问题。我们询问了他们使用 JUUL 的喜欢和不喜欢之处，切换时的帮助和困难，继续使用 JUUL 的意愿，以及 JUUL 与过去减少吸烟的方法相比如何。回答内容由独立评估人员编码为主题。按种族/族裔和第 6 周使用轨迹（单独使用 JUUL、同时使用 JUUL 和香烟、单独使用香烟）分别分析主题频率。
使用 JUUL 最常被喜欢的方面是清洁/气味（23%），其次是便利性（19%）。对于非裔美国人（44%）来说，咳嗽/刺激性是切换的一个更常见障碍，而对于拉丁裔（9%）来说则不是，对于继续吸烟的人（56%）来说，咳嗽/刺激性是切换的一个更常见障碍，而对于那些只切换或同时使用 JUUL 和可燃香烟的人（15-21%）来说也是如此。大多数人（78%的非裔美国人；90%的拉丁裔）表示，使用 JUUL 的好处超过了障碍，这因 JUUL 的使用轨迹而异：94%的人是单一使用 JUUL 切换，86%的人是双重使用，42%的人继续使用香烟。大多数人表示（83%的非裔美国人；94%的拉丁裔）他们将继续使用 JUUL 来代替香烟，并且 JUUL 在减少香烟方面比其他方法效果更好（72%）。
吸烟的非裔美国人和拉丁裔人群使用弹电子烟的体验总体上是积极的。了解吸烟的少数族裔人群转向电子烟的促进因素和障碍，可以为减少危害的干预措施提供信息，并减少与烟草有关的健康差距。
ClinicalTrials.gov 标识符：NCT03511001，于 2018 年 4 月 27 日注册。
