Attitudes of Serbian adults towards e-cigarette use

Abstract

Introduction To analyze the attitudes of Serbian adults related to e-cigarettes and provide a basis for the development of targeted interventions. Material and Methods Data were obtained through a survey among the adult population of Serbia conducted via face to face interviewing on a nationally representative sample of 1041 citizens of Serbia 18+ years old. Results Smoking prevalence was calculated at 39.2% (40% male, 39% female). Prevalence of ever use e-cigarettes was 11% (12% male and 11% female) and of current use was 2%, both for male and female. The main reasons to use e-cigarettes were curiosity (51%), use as a substitution to cigarettes or to reduce the number of cigarettes (23%), for smoking cessation (18%), while 2% use it as it looks fashionable. There was no statistically significant difference for various above listed reasons for e-cigarette use according to sex, type of residence nor age. E-cigarette use didn't have any influence on the smoking pattern of 77% of those who ever used e-cigarette. The majority of citizens think that e-cigarettes with nicotine should be regulated in the same way as tobacco products (63%) and that e-cigarettes are harmful to health (67%), while 28% of smokers think that they could help them to quit smoking. Conclusions Curiosity was cited as the main reason for trying e-cigarettes among a substantial number of those who had ever tried them, calling for actions aimed to reduce experimentation with e-cigarettes and their wide distribution. Further education on all aspects of e-cigarettes is needed among the general population including on the harmful effects of nicotine in any form