10.2. SR 09-08-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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E-cigarettes: an evidence update 86 and thus would overestimate actual current use. Overall, being a smoker was the strongest predictor of ever using an EC, younger age was also predictive. Respondents who were uncertain about the harmfulness of EC were less likely to have tried an EC. Among current smokers, those who had a made a quit attempt in the past year were most likely to have ever used EC, along with heavier smokers. With regards to use as a smoking cessation aid, 7.1% of smokers who had ever made a quit attempt report ed having used EC, compared to 65.7% who used no help, 22.5% who used nicotine replacement therapy, and 7.3% who received behavioural counselling. Geographical differences in EC use noted by the authors included higher ever use in Northern and Eastern Europe compared to Western Europe. The study did not go into deta il on occasional or regular users of EC because the numbers were too low for any detailed analyses. A 2012 study using the same Eurobarometer 385 survey data gave further detail on ever having used or currently using EC occasionally or regularly among smokers and non-smokers [63]. The study found that regular/occasional use was highest in Denmark at 4.2% and lowest in Lithuania and Portugal at 0.6%, and 2.5% in the UK [63]. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey [159] published findings on EC use in Indonesia (2011), Malaysia (2011), Qatar (2013) and Greece (2013) among smokers and non- smokers, the first countries with available data. Of those respondents who were aware of EC, they asked, “Do you currently use e-cigarettes on a daily basis, less than daily, or not at all?” and considered those who said they used ‘less than daily’ or ‘daily’ to be current EC users. Overall, awareness of EC was highest in Greece (88.5%), followed by Qatar (49%), Malaysia (21%), and Indonesia (10.9%). Use of EC among smokers was highest in Malaysia (10.4%), followed by Qatar (7.6%), Indonesia (4.2%) and Greece (3.4%). Use of EC among non-smokers was highest in Greece (1.3%), followed by the other three countries, Malaysia (0.4%), Indonesia (0.4%) and Qatar (0.4%). Similar to findings from the ITC Project, these numbers are likely influenced by timing of the survey, due to the rapid progression of use of EC globally, and other market factors. Together with the findings from Gravely et al., 2014 [157] they show the rapid global progression of EC use across both high income and lower middle income countries. Use of e-cigarettes among youth internationally Whilst there are very few international or European studies which use consistent methodology, there is a rapidly growing body of research on the prevalence of EC use in young people at the country level, as well as reviews in this area [eg [160]]. However, much of this literature on EC use among adolescents is incomparable because of inconsistent measurements of use (confusing ever use, trial, current use), and different age ranges involved. In addition, many of the studies have been poorly reported. For