Smoking Cessation and Vaping Cessation Attempts among Cigarette Smokers and E-Cigarette Users in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Our aim is to assess the smoking cessation and vaping cessation activity, including quit attempts and willingness to quit among university students in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as to investigate personal characteristics associated with smoking cessation and vaping cessation attempts. Data were collected by questionnaire which included 46 questions on cigarette and e-cigarette use. Questionnaires were obtained from 14,352 university students (aged 20.9 ± 2.4 years; cooperation rate of 72.2%). For the purposes of this analysis, only data from exclusive cigarette smokers (n = 1716), exclusive e-cigarette users (n = 129), and dual users (216) were included. Of all cigarette smokers, 51.6% had previously tried to quit smoking and 51.5% declared a willingness to quit cigarette smoking in the near future. Among all e-cigarette users only 13.9% had ever tried to quit using the e-cigarette and 25.2% declared a willingness to give up using e-cigarette in the near future. The majority of the group did not use pharmacotherapy to quit cigarette (87.5%) or e-cigarette (88.9%) use. Our results indicate that while most university students have some desire to quit conventional smoking, those who use e-cigarettes do not have the same desire.

Knowledge, beliefs, attitude, and practices of E-cigarette use among dental students: A multinational survey

“…Around 27%, 23%, and 21% of E-cigarette users in the current study reported that they do so to enjoy E-cigarettes’ flavors, protect their families from passive smoking, and reduce/quit smoking, respectively. Somewhat comparable proportions were reported elsewhere [ 45 , 51 – 53 ]. This may further explain the extent of the addictiveness of smoking habits, with users trying to find alternatives rather than quit.…”

Nicotine Dependence from Different E-Cigarette Devices and Combustible Cigarettes among US Adolescent and Young Adult Users

“…E-cigarette use among AYA is a global phenomenon; while most studies of nicotine dependence have been conducted in the US, symptoms of nicotine dependence have also been observed among adolescents from Canada and the United Kingdom [29]. Further, data from US and international studies suggest that some adolescents desire to quit e-cigarettes, but have struggled to quit [29][30][31]. Given the extent of nicotine dependence among AYA, future research and resources should be dedicated towards developing and providing e-cigarette-specific cessation tools for AYA.…”

Effects of Respiratory Disorders on Smoking Cessation and Re-Initiation in an Italian Cohort Study

“…On the other hand, subjects with mild respiratory symptoms could perform more unsuccessful attempts to quit. Indeed, chronic respiratory diseases are associated with an increase in quit attempts [12,14], which seem less likely to succeed [12,13]. To our knowledge, no literature data were available on the relation between smoking re-initiation and respiratory diseases.…”

“…As regards COPD, smoking cessation has been reported to be more difficult among smokers with than without the disease [13]. Moreover, chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and COPD, are associated with an increase in quit attempts [12,14], and in the willingness to stop smoking [15,16]. Remembering Mark Twain's joke-'It's easy to quit smoking.…”