Reasons for Using Heated Tobacco Products among South Korean Adults

Abstract

Background: This study assessed the reasons for using heated tobacco products (HTPs) among South Korean adults according to demographic and socioeconomic factors. Methods: An online panel survey was conducted from November 3 to 9, 2018, including 7,000 adults (4,700 females, 2,300 males) from 70,000 age-, sex-, and provincial-distributionmatched individuals, based on the 2018 national population statistics. Females were oversampled because their tobacco use prevalence was low. The reasons for using HTPs were investigated and ranked according to age, sex, education level, monthly income, and current HTP usage status. Descriptive statistics were then presented as unweighted numbers and weighted percentages. Results: Of the 7,000 participants, 944 (16.8%) were ever HTP users. The most common reasons for using HTPs among ever HTP users were as follows: "no ash is formed (74.8%)" and "it has less odor than conventional cigarettes (71.9%)." Current HTP users responded with higher percentages for all the reasons, compared to former HTP users. HTP having "less odor than conventional cigarettes" was the most important reason for younger smokers (20-34 years old) compared with those of other age groups. No significant differences were observed in the order of reasons for HTP use between males and females. People with higher education used HTPs to "reduce conventional cigarette use" (41.4% vs. 30.9%), and people with higher income (over monthly income of 7000K won) used HTPs as it produced "less odor than conventional cigarettes" (77.2%). Conclusion:In South Korea, the most important reason for HTP use among current HTP users is the absence of ash and odor.

Reasons for Initiation and Regular Use of Heated Tobacco Products among Current and Former Smokers in South Korea: Findings from the 2020 ITC Korea Survey

“…Of eight current IQOS consumers (all of whom smoked cigarettes and/or used e-cigarettes), six reported using HTPs because they believed that HTPs are less harmful and less smelly compared to cigarettes, and two reported using IQOS to stop smoking [ 21 ]. An online study of 7000 Korean adults, of which 944 (16.8%) had ever used HTPs, found that the most common reasons for using HTPs among ever-HTP consumers were that “no ash is formed” (74.8%) and “it has less odor than conventional cigarettes” (71.9%) [ 22 ]. There were limitations to these studies in that they either used small convenience samples or did not provide a comprehensive list of reasons for HTP use.…”

Study on Cut Tobacco Drying Process Based on HS-GC/MS: Principal Component Analysis, Similarity Analysis, Drying Conditions, and Drying Mechanism

“…Te activation energy E a of the drying process can be obtained as presented in (1) and (6). Trough calculation, the drying process activation energy E a is 111.9 kJ, and the reaction is an endothermic reaction.…”

“…In the cigarette production process, the drying process is an important step [1][2][3]. Te setting of the process parameters not only has a direct infuence on cut tobacco physical characteristics, such as moisture content, whole cut rate, and flling power, but it also has a critical impact on the chemical properties, especially aroma components [1,[4][5][6].…”