Terms Tobacco Users Employ to Describe E-cigarette Aerosol.
Friday, July 15, 2022
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Ebrahimi
Kalan M, Lazard AJ, Sheldon JM, et al.
Terms Tobacco Users Employ
to Describe E-cigarette Aerosol.
[published online ahead of print, 2022 Jun 21]. Tob Control.
2022;tobaccocontrol-2021-057233. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-057233
Background. The
scientific term for the substance people inhale and exhale from a vaping device
is 'aerosol', but whether the public uses this term is unclear. To inform
tobacco control communication efforts, we sought to understand what tobacco
users call e-cigarette aerosols.
Methods. Participants
were a national convenience sample of 1628 US adults who used e-cigarettes,
cigarettes or both (dual users). In an online survey, conducted in spring 2021,
participants described what 'people inhale and exhale when they vape', using an
open-ended and then a closed-ended response scale. Participants then evaluated
warning statements, randomly assigned to contain the term 'aerosol' or 'vapor'
(eg, 'E-cigarette aerosol/vapor contains nicotine, which can lead to
seizures').
Results. In
open-ended responses, tobacco users most commonly provided the terms 'vapor'
(31%) and 'smoke' (23%) but rarely 'aerosol' (<1%). In closed-ended
responses, the most commonly endorsed terms were again 'vapor' (57%) and
'smoke' (22%) but again infrequently 'aerosol' (2%). In closed-ended responses,
use of the term 'vapor' was more common than other terms among people who were
older; white; gay, lesbian or bisexual; college educated; or vape users only
(all p<0.05).
In the experiment, warnings using the terms 'aerosol' and 'vapor' were equally
effective (all p>0.05).
Conclusions. The
public rarely uses the term 'aerosol' to describe e-cigarette output,
potentially complicating educational efforts that use the term. Future studies
should explore public knowledge and understanding of the terms 'aerosol' and
the more popular 'vapor' to better inform vaping risk communication.
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