Do Social Norms for Cigarette Smoking and Nicotine Vaping Product Use Predict Trying Nicotine Vaping
Friday, March 17, 2023
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Yong
HH, Chow R, East K, Thrasher JF, Hitchman SC, Borland R, Cummings KM, Fong GT.
Do Social Norms for
Cigarette Smoking and Nicotine Vaping Product Use Predict Trying Nicotine
Vaping Products and Attempts to Quit Cigarette Smoking amongst Adult Smokers?
Findings from the 2016-2020 International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking
And Vaping Surveys.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2023 Feb 9;25(3):505-513. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntac212. PMID:
36082962; PMCID: PMC9910125.
Introduction. To
examine whether perceived injunctive and descriptive social norms towards
cigarette and nicotine vaping product (NVP) use predicted subsequent trying
NVPs and attempts to quit cigarette smoking amongst current smokers and whether
associations varied across countries.
Aims and methods. Three
waves of longitudinal cohort data from the International Tobacco Control Four
Country Smoking and Vaping Survey were collected between 2016 and 2020 from
2290 adult smokers in Canada, Australia, England, and the United States who had
never used NVPs at baseline (either wave 1 or wave 2) and followed up at the
subsequent wave (wave 2 or wave 3, respectively) were analyzed using
Generalized Estimating Equations.
Results. Of
the injunctive and descriptive norm measures for smoking and NVP use, NVP
initiation was only independently predicted by the injunctive interpersonal
norm for NVP use, with perceived approval of NVP use by important others
predicting higher odds of trying NVPs (AOR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.20 to 2.27). This
predictive effect was independent of baseline quit intention with no country
variations found. By contrast, making cigarette smoking quit attempts were
independently predicted by both injunctive and descriptive interpersonal norms
with perceived disapproval of smoking by important others (AOR = 1.65, 95% CI =
1.38 to 1.99) and close friends using NVPs (AOR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.79),
both associated with higher odds of smoking quit attempts.
Conclusions. Adult
smokers who perceive NVP use as normative, either because such behavior is
socially approved or common within their close social networks, appear more
inclined to try NVPs or make smoking quit attempts than smokers who do not.
Implications. Social
norms can shape a person's behavior and result in behavior change. This study
shows that initiation of NVP use behavior among smokers can be reliably
predicted by their perception of whether NVP use is acceptable to those
important to them within their close social networks. Similarly, any attempts
to stop cigarette smoking can be predicted by their perception of how
acceptable cigarette smoking is among those who are important to them and
whether any of their close friends use NVPs. Changing social norms towards
cigarette smoking and NVP use could therefore be incorporated into smoking
cessation interventions to help smokers to quit and/or switch to NVP use.
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