TY - JOUR
T1 - Electronic cigarette use among Italian smokers
T2 - patterns, settings, and adverse events
AU - Gallus, Silvano
AU - Borroni, Elisa
AU - Liu, Xiaoqiu
AU - Carrozzi, Laura
AU - Pietra, Gianfranco Dalla
AU - Varzaneh, Shokoofe Eslami
AU - Hararis, Sergio
AU - Inciso, Giovanni
AU - Martucci, Paola
AU - Papale, Maria
AU - Pistelli, Francesco
AU - Polla, Biagio
AU - Polo, Maria Francesca
AU - Rosastella, null
AU - Pulera, Nolita
AU - Raschi, Stefania
AU - Sarzani, Riccardo
AU - Serafini, Antonella
AU - Odone, Anna
AU - van den Brandt, Piet
AU - Lugo, Alessandra
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: S.G. was partially funded by the Italian League Against Cancer (LILT, Milan).
Funding Information:
The authors thank the Centro Studi AIPO and its staff for help in coordinating the network of centers for various smoking cessation services and Judith D. Baggott for language editing. The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: S.G. was partially funded by the Italian League Against Cancer (LILT, Milan).
Publisher Copyright:
© Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori 2020.
PY - 2020/6
Y1 - 2020/6
N2 - Objective:Information is scanty on the patterns and settings of electronic cigarette use and on its possible adverse events. To fill the knowledge gap on these issues, we conducted a survey among ever-smokers attending smoking cessation services (SCS) in Italy.Methods:In 2016-2018, we enrolled 395 ever-smokers aged > 18 years who were current or former electronic cigarette users in 12 SCS from northern, central, and southern Italy.Results:In all, 12.4% of ever smokers were regular, 9.4% occasional, and 78.2% past users of electronic cigarettes. Of all users, 93.8% consumed electronic cigarettes with nicotine, 95.9% used refillable devices, and 76.6% purchased electronic cigarette devices or liquids in vape shops. The mean duration of use was 3.7 months and the mean number of puffs per day was 86. Among users, 71.5% used electronic cigarettes in at least 1 smoke-free indoor environment, 53.7% in workplaces, 49.5% in restaurants and bars, 33.5% in train/metro stations or airports, and 18.4% in public transports. The use of electronic cigarettes in smoke-free environments significantly decreased with age and increased with duration of use and nicotine dependence. In our sample, 47.1% reported at least 1 adverse event attributable to electronic cigarette use: 19.5% dry cough, 12.0% dry mouth, 7.6% throat or mouth irritation, and 6.8% sore throat.Conclusion:In Italy, most conventional cigarette smokers use electronic cigarettes where smoking conventional cigarettes is prohibited. About half of users reported 1 or more symptoms attributable to electronic cigarettes, despite the relatively short duration of use.
AB - Objective:Information is scanty on the patterns and settings of electronic cigarette use and on its possible adverse events. To fill the knowledge gap on these issues, we conducted a survey among ever-smokers attending smoking cessation services (SCS) in Italy.Methods:In 2016-2018, we enrolled 395 ever-smokers aged > 18 years who were current or former electronic cigarette users in 12 SCS from northern, central, and southern Italy.Results:In all, 12.4% of ever smokers were regular, 9.4% occasional, and 78.2% past users of electronic cigarettes. Of all users, 93.8% consumed electronic cigarettes with nicotine, 95.9% used refillable devices, and 76.6% purchased electronic cigarette devices or liquids in vape shops. The mean duration of use was 3.7 months and the mean number of puffs per day was 86. Among users, 71.5% used electronic cigarettes in at least 1 smoke-free indoor environment, 53.7% in workplaces, 49.5% in restaurants and bars, 33.5% in train/metro stations or airports, and 18.4% in public transports. The use of electronic cigarettes in smoke-free environments significantly decreased with age and increased with duration of use and nicotine dependence. In our sample, 47.1% reported at least 1 adverse event attributable to electronic cigarette use: 19.5% dry cough, 12.0% dry mouth, 7.6% throat or mouth irritation, and 6.8% sore throat.Conclusion:In Italy, most conventional cigarette smokers use electronic cigarettes where smoking conventional cigarettes is prohibited. About half of users reported 1 or more symptoms attributable to electronic cigarettes, despite the relatively short duration of use.
KW - E-cigarettes
KW - adverse events
KW - patterns of use
KW - survey
KW - Italy
KW - ADULTS
KW - PREVALENCE
KW - AWARENESS
KW - SMOKING
KW - TRENDS
U2 - 10.1177/0300891620915784
DO - 10.1177/0300891620915784
M3 - Article
C2 - 32338200
SN - 0300-8916
VL - 106
SP - 229
EP - 240
JO - Tumori
JF - Tumori
IS - 3
M1 - 0300891620915784
ER -