Understanding Determinants of Electronic Cigarette and Heated Tobacco Product Use among Young Adults in Lebanon: Prevention and Policy Implications

Mugharbil, Sanaa; Tleis, Malak; Romani, Maya; Salloum, Ramzi G.; Nakkash, Rima

doi:10.3390/ijerph20054273

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 35 publications

(55 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, due to the recent economic downturn, e-cigarettes have become unaffordable. 13 In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated the economic and social crisis in Lebanon. To the best of our knowledge and compared with the aforementioned literature, no previous comprehensive studies have explored the interplay between the recent economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and nicotine dependence in Lebanon, in a single cohort study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smoking Habits and Nicotine Dependence Among the General Lebanese Population Before and During Both the Economic Crisis and COVID-19 Pandemic

Haddad,

Aoun,

Mghames

et al. 2024

Tob Use Insights

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective Smoking habits have widely changed over time; however, they remain a well-known fashion that risks people’s health. In addition, nicotine addiction depends on the interplay between several factors. Our study aimed to understand the smoking habits and nicotine dependence in the Lebanese population before (September 2019) and during (June 2020) the economic crisis and COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This observational cross-sectional survey-based study included 1560 Lebanese individuals aged between 13 and 75 years old from June till October 2020. Data collection was performed through an electronic survey including patients’ demographics and validated instruments to assess addiction to nicotine (CAGE, Four C’s, Fagerström test, and Smoker’s profile scores). Results Out of 1560 participants, 794 (50.9%) were males. The mean age was 26.5 ± 11.69 years, and 67.8% were aged between 18 and 25 years old. We found that 865 (55.4%) participants were smokers. In addition, smoking cigarettes or vaping, significantly increased between September 2019 and June 2020. Our smoker group showed a high CAGE positivity ( P < .001), marked compulsion ( P < .001), and a considerable lack of self-control to surcease smoking ( P < .001). Furthermore, the nicotine dependence score (NDS) increased with age (B = .166) and decreased with higher educational levels (B = −.219). Conclusion During the economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lebanese population showed an increased prevalence of smoking, a high level of CAGE positivity, strong compulsion, and a significant lack of self-control when it came to quitting smoking. This strongly entails public health measures for smoking cessation through national awareness campaigns.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smoking Habits and Nicotine Dependence Among the General Lebanese Population Before and During Both the Economic Crisis and COVID-19 Pandemic

Haddad,

Aoun,

Mghames

et al. 2024

Tob Use Insights

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

A Scoping Review of Behavioural Studies on Heated Tobacco Products

Fearon,

Cordery,

Fitzpatrick

et al. 2024

Cureus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Heated tobacco products (HTPs) are electronic devices that heat tobacco sticks to temperatures much lower than those which cause pyrolysis and combustion in cigarettes. While this electrical heating causes the formation of an inhalable aerosol which contains nicotine, the aerosol from HTPs contains significantly fewer and lower levels of the harmful and potentially harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke. As a result, HTP use potentially conveys reduced risks to health compared to cigarette smoking. While this relative reduction in individual health risk is becoming clearer, what is less certain is the impact of HTPs on overall population-level health, taking into account both the potential positive impact on adult smokers who completely switch to using HTPs and any unintended impacts such as use by tobacco non-users and particularly by youth. The aim of this scoping review was to collate and evaluate the published scientific evidence to date, with a cut-off of 1 January 2024, investigating the impact of HTPs on population-level health. This evaluation suggests that HTP use is almost exclusively observed among those with a history of cigarette smoking, and there is a growing body of evidence for the ability of HTPs to provide support for adult smokers to transition away from cigarette smoking, in the absence of any significant "gateway" into tobacco use initiation. Many studies have reported a significant degree of dual use of cigarettes and HTPs, and efforts to assess the reasons for such patterns of use, whether these provide overall exposure reductions, and whether dual use acts as a bridge towards a complete transition away from cigarette smoking, requires further investigation. In addition, correction of the widespread and increasing misperceptions of HTPs among adult smokers is recommended to promote HTP uptake as a potentially less harmful alternative to smoking in this population.

show abstract

Understanding Determinants of Electronic Cigarette and Heated Tobacco Product Use among Young Adults in Lebanon: Prevention and Policy Implications

Cited by 2 publications

References 35 publications

Smoking Habits and Nicotine Dependence Among the General Lebanese Population Before and During Both the Economic Crisis and COVID-19 Pandemic

Smoking Habits and Nicotine Dependence Among the General Lebanese Population Before and During Both the Economic Crisis and COVID-19 Pandemic

A Scoping Review of Behavioural Studies on Heated Tobacco Products

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About