Perceptions of non-traditional tobacco products between asthmatic and non-asthmatic college students

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use is common among college students and there are perceptions that ENDS are not as harmful as traditional cigarettes. The aim of this study was to examine differences in ENDS use, risk perceptions, and co-occurring smoking behaviors between college studen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of asthma Vol. 56; no. 5; p. 498
Main Authors Martinasek, Mary P, White, Robin M, Wheldon, Christopher W, Gibson-Young, Linda
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 04.05.2019
Subjects
Asthma - psychology
Attitude to Health
Cross-Sectional Studies
Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
Female
Humans
Male
Smoking - epidemiology
Students
Tobacco Products
Universities
Young Adult
Prevention
epidemiology
asthma
e-cigarettes
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Summary:Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use is common among college students and there are perceptions that ENDS are not as harmful as traditional cigarettes. The aim of this study was to examine differences in ENDS use, risk perceptions, and co-occurring smoking behaviors between college students with and without asthma. The study consisted of a cross-sectional online survey with a final sample size of 898 college students. The voluntary participation survey was disseminated to all undergraduate and graduate students at a mid-sized liberal arts university in the Southeast U.S. in the Fall of 2014. Approximately 19.7% reported that they had been previously diagnosed with asthma. Forty three percent of participants (n = 384) used ENDS in the past 30 days. Equivalent percentages of college students with asthma (46.9%) and college students without asthma (46.9%) have tried ENDS. Overall participants indicated that they perceived ENDS use as less (44%) or equally (38%) as harmful as cigarettes. College students with asthma had 2.85 (95% CI: 1.18-6.89) greater odds of being in the poly-user class, which was characterized by dual use of ENDS, combustible cigarettes, hookah, and marijuana. In this study, college students with asthma were similar to their peers with regard to their use of ENDS and related risk perceptions; however, a small subsample of those with asthma exhibited problematic smoking behaviors characterized by dual use of multiple tobacco products including marijuana.
ISSN:1532-4303
DOI:10.1080/02770903.2018.1471705