Smokers who have not tried alternative nicotine products: a 2019 survey of adults in Great Britain

Abstract

Aims: Switching from smoking to using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) or heated tobacco products can reduce tobacco-related health risks. However, not all smokers in Great Britain have tried these products. This study aimed to identify and describe smokers who have never tried alternative nicotine products. Methods: We analysed cross-sectional survey data of smokers (n = 1777) from a representative adult sample from Great Britain. The online survey was run in March 2019. The proportion of smokers who had never used alternative nicotine products was measured. A multivariate logistic regression assessed the association between never having used alternative nicotine products and sociodemographic and smoking characteristics and motivation to stop smoking. Results: One in four smokers (27.8%, 95% CI 25.8-29.9%) had never tried NRT, e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products. These smokers were more commonly from Black and Minority than White ethnic groups (AOR = 1.55; 95% CI 1.02-2.31), were more likely to smoke up to 10 versus more cigarettes per day (AOR = 1.52; 95% CI 1.14-2.03) and to report low versus moderate or high motivation to stop smoking (AOR = 1.79; 95% CI 1.20-2.74). Conclusion: Light smokers, those unmotivated to stop and smokers from Black and Minority ethnic groups are less likely to have ever tried alternative nicotine products. Different approaches are needed to facilitate harm reduction and smoking cessation among these groups of smokers.

Increased Breast and Colorectal Cancer Risk in Type 2 Diabetes: Awareness Among Adults With and Without Diabetes and Information Provision on Diabetes Websites

“…Descriptive analysis was undertaken to examine sample characteristics, and awareness of T2DM-increased breast and CRC risk comparative to awareness of other diabetes-related health conditions. To assess correlates of awareness, separate multivariable logistic regression models, including diabetes status, gender, age, SES (using occupation-based social grade, which is strongly associated with education level [ 49 , 50 ]), and ethnicity (entered in a single step, see Table 3 for how these variables were categorized), were produced for each of the seven diabetes-related health conditions examined in the closed question (plus decoys) to estimate odds-ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Binary outcome variables (aware/not aware) were derived from the closed question response options with “ more likely ” responses coded aware and “ not more likely ” and “ don’t know ” responses coded not aware (except for the decoy items, where the “ more likely ” and “ not more likely ” responses were swapped round; see footnote to Table 3 ).…”

Anticipated responses to a hypothetical minimum price for cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco: an online cross-sectional survey with cigarette smokers and ex-smokers in the UK

“…Results for both items were summed (range 0-6) and participants coded as light (0-1), moderate (2-3) or heavy smokers (4-6). [34][35][36][37] Those not providing valid answers for time to first cigarette were coded 'Not stated' for HSI category.…”