Center for Tobacco Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Deptartment of Health Behavior, Society and Policy, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.
Tob Control. 2023 Aug;32(e2):e255-e259. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-057190. Epub 2022 Feb 28.
The e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) outbreak caused serious lung injuries in over 2800 people in the USA in 2019. By February 2020, most cases were determined as linked with vaping tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), including black market products using vitamin E acetate. This study examined smokers' EVALI awareness, knowledge and perceived impact on their e-cigarette interest approximately 16 months after its peak.
Between January and February 2021, we surveyed 1018 adult current smokers from a nationally representative US research panel. Participants were asked if they had heard about EVALI prior to COVID-19, knew its main cause, and if EVALI had impacted their interest in future e-cigarette use.
Approximately 54% of smokers had heard of EVALI. Among those who had heard of EVALI (n=542), 37.3% believed its cause was e-cigarettes used to vape nicotine, like JUUL. Fewer (16.6%) thought the main cause was products for vaping marijuana/THC, and 20.2% did not know. About 29% had heard vitamin E acetate was associated with EVALI, and 50.9% indicated EVALI made them less interested in using e-cigarettes in the future. EVALI awareness was significantly associated with e-cigarette risk perceptions (ie, that e-cigarettes are as harmful as smoking).
Despite the passage of time, considerable lack of knowledge and misperceptions about EVALI remain among those who smoke. Our findings suggest the need for continued efforts to promote better understanding of EVALI and appropriate behavioural and policy responses.
2019 年，美国电子烟或蒸气产品使用相关肺损伤（EVALI）爆发导致超过 2800 人出现严重肺部损伤。截至 2020 年 2 月，大多数病例被确定与吸食四氢大麻酚（THC）的蒸气相关，包括使用维生素 E 醋酸盐的黑市产品。本研究在 EVALI 达到高峰后约 16 个月，调查了吸烟者对 EVALI 的认识、知识和感知对其电子烟兴趣的影响。
2021 年 1 月至 2 月期间，我们对来自美国全国代表性研究小组的 1018 名成年当前吸烟者进行了调查。参与者被问及他们在 COVID-19 之前是否听说过 EVALI、是否知道其主要病因，以及 EVALI 是否影响他们对未来电子烟使用的兴趣。
约 54%的吸烟者听说过 EVALI。在听说过 EVALI 的人中（n=542），37.3%认为其病因是用于吸食尼古丁的电子烟，如 JUUL。较少（16.6%）的人认为主要原因是吸食大麻/THC 的蒸气产品，20.2%的人不知道。约 29%的人听说过维生素 E 醋酸盐与 EVALI 有关，50.9%的人表示 EVALI 使他们未来对使用电子烟的兴趣降低。EVALI 意识与电子烟风险认知显著相关（即电子烟与吸烟一样有害）。
尽管时间过去了，但在吸烟人群中，对 EVALI 的认识仍然存在相当大的缺乏和误解。我们的研究结果表明，需要继续努力，以促进对 EVALI 的更好理解，并采取适当的行为和政策反应。
