Electronic cigarettes or vaping : are there any differences in the profiles, use and perceptions between a developed and a developing country?

The use of electronic cigarettes or vaping is currently increasing in popularity globally. Debate continues regarding their potential role for smoking cessation. We aimed to compare the profiles, use and perceptions of using e-cigarettes amongst online forum users in a developed and a developing country. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among members of different popular online forums in Australia and Bangladesh who were current or ex-users of e-cigarettes. There were 422 study participants, 261 (62%) from Australia and 161 (38%) from Bangladesh. The mean age was 36.3 (±12) years and 83% were men. Australians were more likely to be exclusive users of e-cigarettes (70% vs. 30%, AOR 3.05 [95% CI 1.63–5.71]), but less likely to be dual users of smoking and e-cigarettes (43% vs. 57%, 0.36 [0.19–0.69]); they were also more likely to mention that the perceived reasons for using were their low cost, good taste/flavour, safety and assistance in reducing or quitting smoking (66% vs. 34%, 5.10 [2.04–12.8]), but less likely to mention a social/cool image as a reason for use (23% vs. 77%, 0.11 [0.01–0.87]) compared with Bangladeshi participants. About two-thirds of the participants in both countries perceived the use of e-cigarettes as less addictive than cigarettes and more than three-quarters perceived them as less harmful. E-cigarette users in Australia were more likely to use them to reduce or quit cigarettes compared with those in Bangladesh, and dual use was common in Bangladesh. These findings warrant the consideration of precautions for promoting e-cigarettes as a harm reduction strategy for smoking cessation in developing countries, such as Bangladesh. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Ever and cumulative occupational exposure and lung function decline in longitudinal population-based studies : a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives Adverse occupational exposures can accelerate age-related lung function decline. Some longitudinal population-based studies have investigated this association. This study aims to examine this association using findings reported by longitudinal population-based studies. Methods Ovid Medline, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched using keywords and text words related to occupational exposures and lung function and 12 longitudinal population-based studies were identified using predefined inclusion criteria. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Lung function decline was defined as annual loss of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1), forced vital capacity (FVC) or the ratio (FEV 1 /FVC). Fixed and random-effects meta-analyses were conducted to calculate pooled estimates for ever and cumulative exposures. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I 2 test, and publication bias was evaluated using funnel plots. Results Ever exposures to gases/fumes, vapours, gases, dusts, fumes (VGDF) and aromatic solvents were significantly associated with FEV 1 decline in meta-analyses. Cumulative exposures for these three occupational agents observed a similar trend of FEV 1 decline. Ever exposures to fungicides and cumulative exposures to biological dust, fungicides and insecticides were associated with FEV 1 decline in fixed-effect models only. No statistically significant association was observed between mineral dust, herbicides and metals and FEV 1 decline in meta-analyses. Conclusion Pooled estimates from the longitudinal population-based studies have provided evidence that occupational exposures are associated with FEV 1 decline. Specific exposure control and respiratory health surveillance are required to protect the lung health of the workers. © 2023 Author(s). Published by BMJ