U.S. adult perceptions of the harmfulness of tobacco products: descriptive findings from the 2013–14 baseline wave 1 of the path study

Publication date: Available online 17 November 2018

Source: Addictive Behaviors

Author(s): Geoffrey T. Fong, Tara Elton-Marshall, Pete Driezen, Annette R. Kaufman, K. Michael Cummings, Kelvin Choi, Jonathan Kwan, Amber Koblitz, Andrew Hyland, Maansi Bansal-Travers, Charles Carusi, Mary E. Thompson

Abstract

Introduction

This study is the first nationally representative survey of U.S. adults (18+) to examine perceptions of the relative harms of eight non-cigarette tobacco products.

Methods

Data are from Wave 1 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study Adult Questionnaire, a nationally representative study of 32,320 adults in the United States conducted from September 2013 to December 2014.

Results

40.7% of adults believed that electronic cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes, and 17.8% of adults believed that hookah was less harmful than cigarettes. Those less knowledgeable about the health risks of smoking were more likely to believe that the non-cigarette products were less harmful than cigarettes. Current non-cigarette tobacco product users were more likely to perceive that product to be less harmful than cigarettes (except filtered cigars). There was a significant positive correlation between beliefs that cigarettes were harmful and the likelihood of using hookah; perceptions of the harmfulness of cigarettes was not associated with the likelihood of using any other product.

Conclusions

Perceptions of harmfulness varied widely across non-cigarette tobacco products. E-cigarettes and hookah in particular are seen as less harmful compared to cigarettes.

from #Head and Neck by Sfakianakis via simeraentaxei on Inoreader https://ift.tt/2qTXQ9a