Differences Between Male and Female E‐cigarettes Users’ Perception of Health

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to identify the differences between genders in the perception of various health outcomes related to tobacco and e-cigarette usage. Methods This research used data from the 2015-2016 Population Assessment of Health Study from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Statistical analyses were conducted using chi-square tests to examine perception of health issues arising from tobacco and e-cigarette consumption across genders. Results A total of 28,148 cases were included in this study. Gender notwithstanding, the majority of people (65.53%) strongly believe conventional cigarettes can cause oral cancer, while most people (55.72%) do not believe e-cigarettes can cause health problems. Females believe (1) it is harder to stop smoking tobacco products; (2) that tobacco products control them; (3) their urge to use e-cigarettes is out of control; (4) it is harder to quit using tobacco products; and (5) smoking can cause mouth cancer. More males do not believe (1) smoking tobacco products help them think better; and (2) deny e-cigarettes can cause health problems. All of these findings were statistically significant at p < 0.05. Conclusions This study demonstrated men and women perceive tobacco and e-cigarette-related health issues differently. Despite the fact that more females believe usage of tobacco products is hard to quit and it can also cause oral cancer, most people do not believe e-cigarettes can cause health issues. This study can help strengthen e-cigarette policy to regulate and determine how future regulations might affect user profile and perception especially in its usage, marketing, and distribution. Different educational intervention may be needed for males versus females.