Electronic Cigarettes Consumption and Associated Factors among General Population in Western Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: In recent years, consumption of E-cigarettes has increased dramatically. Several studies have focused on the prevalence of E-cigarettes among specific groups of people, using it as a substitute to traditional cigarettes, or the participant knowledge regarding risks. This research was aimed on E-cigarettes’ prevalence and its association to several factors in the general population of Western Saudi Arabia.Design and Methods: Using an observational cross-sectional study, data were collected from (n=465) above 18 years old smokers during the survey at public attractions. A validated self-administered questionnaire acquired from previous studies was employed to insure the suitability for the general population of Jeddah Saudi Arabia. Sample size was calculated via Raosoft@ and adults of either gender were included in the study. Descriptive or inferential statistical analysis was performed using SPSS.Results: The preponderance of e-cigarette smokers used entertainment as the reason for smoking, with an average of (33.9%). Although one reason for e-cigarette consumption was to cease traditional smoking, results showed an average of (49.4%), which is the majority of those who attempted to cease traditional smoking via e-cigarette, did not succeed in quitting traditional smoking. This study also demonstrated that participant that believed that e-cigarette is beneficial had a higher chance to cease conventional smoking than who did not (32.1% versus 14.6%) which is significant (p<0.001).Conclusions: In conclusion, this study estimated the prevalence of e-cigarette consumption among the population of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia along with assessment of elements which help increase the overall e-cigarette consumption in Jeddah.

Public awareness, prevalence, and regulations for the sale of electronic cigarettes in Arab countries: A narrative review

“…In addition, most of the participants were young. In addition, most studies reported that social media are the main source of information related to e-cigarette use 21,24,27,28,32,39,41,43,47,51,88 . Furthermore, most of the studies used electronic questionnaires, thus, respondents would be participants who have access to the Internet.…”

“…Most of the studies (n=17) included in this review were conducted in Saudi Arabia [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]55 . The first study was conducted in 2014 (participants, n=3027).…”

“…Less than 20% of the participants reported that the main reason for using e-cigarettes was to quit smoking 19 . In five other studies conducted among the general population, between 31.8% to 77.6% of the participants were e-cigarette users [20][21][22][23][24] . In addition, the participants were either only e-cigarette or dual users (using e-cigarettes with another smoking product).…”

“…Overall, e-cigarettes are becoming popular among Arab communities. Prevalence of using e-cigarettes, for instance, was particularly high (>25%) among smokers in countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia 20,24,41,51,60 . In the Arab countries, the main reason for using e-cigarette devices among participants in most studies (Table 1) was positive perceptions of e-cigarette safety with minimal harmful health effects.…”

Prevalence, knowledge and attitude toward electronic cigarette use among male health colleges students in Saudi Arabia—A cross-sectional study

“…In Europe, the prevalence of EC use among young adults increased from 7.2 to 15% in 2017 ( 15 , 16 ). In the Middle East, despite the wide range of prevalence, a recent study conducted on the general population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia showed an increased rate of 51.4%, with the majority being high school and college students ( 17 ).…”