E-cigarettes in the Middle East: The known, unknown, and what needs to be known next

Abstract

The prevalence of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is increasing globally. Population-level data from several nations suggest that a higher proportion of youth and young adults are using e-cigarettes compared to the general population. Though significant work has been done in Western countries to better understand various aspects of e-cigarette use among youth and young adults, there is limited evidence about this phenomenon in Middle Eastern countries. This commentary summarizes the known aspects of youth and young adult e-cigarette use and the limitations of the evidence in the Middle East. Specifically, the limitations of the current literature indicate an overreliance on university-based samples, the overuse of non-user samples, a lack of studies on behaviour change, high variance in existing data, and a lack of uniform instruments to measure e-cigarette use. Lending from findings in other regions, we identify how these limitations should be addressed through future research to fill knowledge gaps in the Middle East.