Healthy Initiatives (Ringgold GO), Tbilisi, Georgia.
Cent Eur J Public Health. 2023 Dec;31(4):271-278. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a7963.
Emerging evidence suggests that the use of safer nicotine products (SNPs), such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) poses significantly lower health risks than continued smoking, particularly over the short and medium term. However, it remains uncertain whether the public has been adequately informed about these relative risks. This study assesses the perceived relative harm of e-cigarettes compared to conventional cigarettes in Ukraine.
Two nationally representative surveys were conducted in February 2021 and December 2022. Participants, irrespective of their smoking status, were asked whether they agreed with the statement that "using e-cigarettes is more harmful than smoking conventional cigarettes". The surveys also included questions about tobacco product usage, the most dangerous substances in cigarettes, and smoking cessation methods. The data were statistically analysed by deriving design-based weighted point estimates and 95% confidence intervals for the proportions within each response category.
In 2022, 38.1% (95% CI: 35.3-40.9) of adults believed that e-cigarettes were more harmful than cigarettes and the perception of relative harm remained relatively unchanged between the two surveys. Furthermore, 56.2% (95% CI: 50.0-62.2) of current cigarette smokers agreed with this statement, while only a small percentage of vapers (e-cigarette users) 7.4% (95% CI: 1.5-30.0) perceived e-cigarettes as more harmful than conventional cigarettes. Among non-smokers and dual users the share was 33.4% (95% CI: 30.0-36.9) and 32.7% (95% CI: 25.1-41.5), respectively.
Our findings indicate that in Ukraine the perception that e-cigarettes are more harmful than cigarettes, or the lack of knowledge regarding relative risks, prevails. This highlights the importance of accurate risk communication to promote a harm reduction approach to tobacco use.
新出现的证据表明，使用更安全的尼古丁产品（如电子烟和加热烟草产品）比继续吸烟的健康风险要低得多，尤其是在短期和中期。然而，公众是否充分了解这些相对风险仍不确定。本研究评估了公众对电子烟相对于传统香烟的相对危害的认知。
我们于 2021 年 2 月和 2022 年 12 月进行了两次全国代表性调查。无论其吸烟状况如何，参与者都被问及他们是否同意“使用电子烟比吸传统香烟更有害”这一说法。调查还包括关于烟草制品使用、香烟中最危险物质和戒烟方法的问题。通过得出每个反应类别内的设计加权点估计和 95%置信区间来对数据进行统计分析。
2022 年，38.1%（95%置信区间：35.3-40.9）的成年人认为电子烟比香烟更有害，且这一相对危害的认知在两次调查之间相对保持不变。此外，56.2%（95%置信区间：50.0-62.2）的当前吸烟者同意这一说法，而只有一小部分电子烟使用者（电子烟使用者）7.4%（95%置信区间：1.5-30.0）认为电子烟比传统香烟更有害。在非吸烟者和双重使用者中，这一比例分别为 33.4%（95%置信区间：30.0-36.9）和 32.7%（95%置信区间：25.1-41.5）。
我们的研究结果表明，在乌克兰，电子烟比香烟更有害的观点，或者对相对风险缺乏了解，占主导地位。这突显了准确的风险沟通在促进减少烟草使用危害的方法方面的重要性。
