Abstract
BackgroundThis study examined sociodemographic and tobacco-related factors of heated tobacco products (HTPs) use among adult ever smokers in South Korea where the sales of HTPs have been rapidly increasing since their launch in June 2017.MethodsBefore the launch of HTPs in Korea, participants comprised male ever smokers (234 current smokers and 37 quitters) who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2015 to 2017 through one-to-one interview survey and agreed to participate in the follow-up surveys through telephone in December 2017. Data were analyzed using logistic regression, to explore sociodemographic and smoking behavior-related factors of HTPs use.ResultsOverall, 10.7% (29/271) of participants responded to using HTPs and 8.1% (22/271) were current HTPs users at the time of the follow-up survey. Multivariate analysis showed that HTPs use is associated with middle age (36 to 49 years old) (aOR = 3.72, CI = 1.16–12.0) (vs. ≥ 50 years), higher income (4Q vs 1Q: aOR = 2.71, CI = 1.16–6.34), and higher educational level (college or higher: aOR = 2.40, CI = 0.87–6.60). Also, vaping experience at baseline was highly associated with HTPs use (aOR = 3.11, CI = 1.22–7.93 for the former experience; aOR = 9.14, CI = 2.34–35.6 for current). However, smoking amount and level of motivation for smoking cessation were not found to be predictors of future HTPs use when limited to current smokers at baseline.ConclusionsThe results showed that vaping experience regardless of current smoking behavior and higher socioeconomic status were found to be associated with subsequent HTPs use among ever smokers. Further studies are required to explore whether this association is causal.
Highlights
This study examined sociodemographic and tobacco-related factors of heated tobacco products (HTPs) use among adult ever smokers in South Korea where the sales of HTPs have been rapidly increasing since their launch in June 2017
Philip Morris International (PMI) applied its HTPs to the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) registration [3]
As PMI claims that IQOS emits no smoke because HTPs do not undergo combustion, these new products can be more socially acceptable [7, 8]
Summary
This study examined sociodemographic and tobacco-related factors of heated tobacco products (HTPs) use among adult ever smokers in South Korea where the sales of HTPs have been rapidly increasing since their launch in June 2017. PMI applied its HTPs to the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) registration [3]. In South Korea, three brands of HTPs have been introduced to the market since June 2017. These products have drawn tremendous attention from smokers who are concerned with their health as well as exposing others from smoking [5]. As PMI claims that IQOS emits no smoke because HTPs do not undergo combustion, these new products can be more socially acceptable [7, 8]. Given the fact that these new tobacco products are being sold globally, the debates on health consequences are growing markedly
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