Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2022 Apr 28;24(6):855-863. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntab246.
Misperceptions about nicotine's contribution to smoking-related health harms could complicate efforts to reduce the public health burden of smoking. Study goals were to describe nicotine knowledge among adults who smoke and investigate whether misperceiving nicotine as a source of health harm was associated with beneficial health behaviors, or lower uptake of using less harmful sources of nicotine to support smoking cessation attempts.
This study used longitudinal data from 9140 adults who participated in four waves of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study and were current smokers during the first wave. Logistic regressions estimated odds ratios for correct responses across six aspects of nicotine knowledge assessed in Wave 4. Longitudinal models estimated associations between misperceptions and cigarette consumption, and odds of making a quit attempt; self-reported cessation; e-cigarette use; and use of NRT or e-cigarettes to support quit attempts.
Participants who were non-White, older, and had lower educational attainment or income tended to be least knowledgeable about nicotine. Misperceiving nicotine as harmful to health was associated with increased odds of quit attempts (AOR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.23), lower odds of cessation success (AOR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.73, 0.98) and e-cigarette use (AOR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.72, 0.86), and lower odds of using NRT (AOR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.71, 0.99) or e-cigarettes to support quit attempts (AOR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.49, 0.71).
Harm reduction efforts may be impeded by misperceptions about nicotine. Further work should evaluate the effects of correcting such misperceptions through public education.
This study provides longitudinal evidence that among adult smokers, misperceiving nicotine as a primary cause of smoking-related diseases may be associated with reduced cessation success and lower likelihood of using less harmful nicotine products. These misperceptions may therefore impede efforts to encourage smokers ready to quit to use evidence-based cessation support such as nicotine replacement during quit attempts and limit the success of policies designed to shift smokers to less harmful sources of nicotine. Further work should evaluate the longitudinal effects of correcting nicotine misperceptions through public education targeted toward adults who smoke.
对尼古丁导致与吸烟相关的健康危害的误解可能会使减少吸烟对公众健康的负担的努力复杂化。研究目的是描述吸烟成年人的尼古丁知识，并调查是否对尼古丁作为健康危害来源的误解与有益的健康行为有关，或者与采用危害较小的尼古丁来源来支持戒烟尝试的可能性较低有关。
本研究使用了来自参加四次“人口烟草与健康评估研究”的 9140 名成年人的纵向数据，这些成年人在第一次调查时为当前吸烟者。逻辑回归估计了在第四次调查中评估的尼古丁知识的六个方面的正确反应的优势比。纵向模型估计了误解与吸烟量之间的关联，以及戒烟尝试、自我报告的戒烟、电子烟使用、以及使用尼古丁替代疗法或电子烟来支持戒烟尝试的可能性。
参与者是非裔美国人、年龄较大、受教育程度较低或收入较低，他们对尼古丁的了解往往最少。将尼古丁误解为对健康有害与戒烟尝试的可能性增加有关（优势比：1.12，95%置信区间：1.03，1.23），戒烟成功率降低的可能性较低（优势比：0.84，95%置信区间：0.73，0.98）和电子烟使用（优势比：0.79，95%置信区间：0.72，0.86），以及使用尼古丁替代疗法（优势比：0.84，95%置信区间：0.71，0.99）或电子烟来支持戒烟尝试的可能性降低（优势比：0.59，95%置信区间：0.49，0.71）。
减少危害的努力可能会因对尼古丁的误解而受阻。进一步的工作应该评估通过公共教育纠正这种误解的效果。
这项研究提供了纵向证据，表明在成年吸烟者中，将尼古丁误解为导致与吸烟相关的疾病的主要原因可能与戒烟成功率降低和使用危害较小的尼古丁产品的可能性降低有关。因此，这些误解可能会阻碍鼓励准备戒烟的吸烟者在戒烟尝试中使用尼古丁替代疗法等基于证据的戒烟支持，并限制旨在使吸烟者转向危害较小的尼古丁来源的政策的成功。进一步的工作应该评估通过针对吸烟成年人的公共教育来纠正尼古丁误解的纵向效果。
