Users of electronic cigarettes exhibit weaker intentions to quit smoking compared to traditional cigarette users. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent study has found that users of electronic cigarettes, particularly those using liquid-type e-cigarettes, exhibit weaker intentions to quit smoking compared to traditional cigarette users.
The study, conducted by a research team led by Professor Kim Dae-hyun of the Department of Family Medicine at Keimyung University College of Medicine, analyzed the quitting intentions of 2,264 adult smokers aged 19 and above participating in the 2019-2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The findings were published in the latest issue of the Korean Journal of Family Practice (KJFP).
The study categorized smokers into four groups: traditional cigarette users (1,695), liquid-type e-cigarette users (155), heated tobacco product users (330), and those using both liquid-type and heated tobacco products (84). The analysis revealed that traditional cigarette users showed the highest intention to quit within a month (18.9%), followed by users of both types of e-cigarettes (13.1%), liquid-type e-cigarette users (11.6%), and heated tobacco product users (11.2%).
Interestingly, users of liquid-type e-cigarettes were most likely to not consider quitting smoking at all, with a rate of 36.8%. The research team also assessed the risk of these groups continuing to smoke without plans to quit in the next six months. The risk for liquid-type e-cigarette users to continue smoking was 1.8 times higher than for traditional cigarette users.
After adjusting for external factors such as age, income, education level, and marital status, the study found that e-cigarette users still had a higher risk of continuing smoking compared to traditional cigarette users. Specifically, the risk for liquid-type e-cigarette users was 2.1 times higher, and for heated tobacco product users, it was 1.5 times higher.
The research team suggested that those with higher dependence on cigarettes might be more likely to turn to e-cigarettes as an alternative, possibly leading to the lower correlation between e-cigarette use and quitting intentions. They emphasized the significance of distinguishing between liquid-type and heated tobacco e-cigarettes in their analysis and called for ongoing research into the relationship between different types of e-cigarettes and quitting smoking.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
