E-Cigarette Survey among Student Pharmacists Reveals Troubling Results

• 作者: Jamie L. McConaha Jan M. Kitzen Joseph V. Pergolizzi Jr. Phillip Lunney Robert B. Raffa Robert Taylor Jr.
• 来源期刊: 药理与制药(英文)
• 学科: 文学
• 关键词: E-Cigarettes NICOTINE Smoking Cessation SURVEY Vaping
• 年，卷（期）: 2020,（6）
• 页码范围: 127-136
• 页数: 10页
• 分类号: H31

摘要

The rise in “vaping”-associated deaths in the United States raises serious concerns. A justification for some level of risk is that e-cigarettes might pro</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">vide a </span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">reverse-gateway” from smoking traditional cigarettes to a less-harmful</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> alternative. But are users actually smokers? We developed an electronic on-line survey to gather data regarding e-cigarette usage in a target study population of pharmacy students. The survey was created using Google Forms to collect the responses anonymously. We surveyed medical-savvy healthcare students about their e-cigarette use, and whether or not their healthcare providers were aware of their e-cigarette use. Although nearly one-fourth of a convenience sampling of 134 pharmacy-student respondents (23.9%) reported using e-cigarettes, only 2.0% reported prior regular cigarette use, 28% used cartridges containing nicotine and only 11.2% had tried and wanted to quit. The majority (64.1%) reported that their healthcare providers did not ask about such use, and respondents did not volunteer this information. The results of this pilot survey reveal a significant e-cigarette use among health-aware pharmacy students, and they do not support the notion that the respondents do so to quit smoking. The observation that most of the students’ healthcare providers did not inquire about their e-cigarette use, coupled with the finding that users did not volunteer their vaping behavior</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">,</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> suggests that the information should be included when getting a medical history. Further research is needed to determine what behavioral factors may play a role in this type of decision-making among student healthcare professionals.