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E-cigarettes: an evidence update <br /> <br />58 <br />Figure 15: Perceptions of relative harmfulness of e-cigarettes in comparison with <br />tobacco cigarettes by e-cigarette use and smoking status. ASH Smokefree GB adult <br />surveys (weighted) <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Trends in harm perceptions relative to cigarettes over time <br />Since 2013, perceptions of the relative harmfulness of EC have become less accurate. <br />Significantly larger proportions perceived EC to be at least as harmful as cigarettes in <br />2014 than in 2013 both in the Internet Cohort GB surveys (Figure 16) and in the ASH <br />youth surveys (Figure 17 [64]). In the Internet Cohort GB survey, there was no <br />significant change from 2012 to 2013, but from 2013 to 2014 the proportion thinking that <br />EC were less harmful decreased in favour of equally or more harmful (p<0.001). For <br />youth, between 2013 and 2014, the decrease in the proportion endorsing ‘less harmful’ <br />and the increase in the proportion endorsing ‘equally harmful’ were significant (p<0.01). <br />There were no significant changes in the proportion endorsing ‘more harmful’ or ‘don’t <br />know’. <br /> <br />In the ASH adult surveys, data on harm perception are available for 2013 to 2015 <br />(Figure 17). In line with the other GB surveys, this survey found a steep increase in the <br />proportion perceiving EC to be equally harmful as cigarettes (p<0.001). <br />