Abstract
Introduction: We have undertaken four online surveys of Stop Smoking Service (SSS) practitioners in England, between 2011 and 2016, in order to enhance our understanding of e-cigarettes: a fast moving new phenomenon. It is important to understand whether e-cigarettes can ameliorate or exacerbate health inequalities given that smoking is one of the most serious causes of excessive mortality and morbidity among disadvantaged groups globally. Aims: To update findings of previous surveys and examine socioeconomic status differences in e-cigarette use and efficacy. Methods: Analysis was undertaken of electronic surveys, particularly, the most recent 2016 survey (n = 514) and 2015/16 SSS client routine monitoring data. Results: SSS practitioners were becoming more positive about e-cigarettes: 42% agreed that e-cigarettes were a good thing compared with 15% in 2011. Reported use of e-cigarettes among SSS clients was low (about 3%) despite higher quit rates (63% of clients reported being quit at four week follow-up, compared with 51% overall). Where socioeconomic differences in e-cigarettes' efficacy for quitting were identified, affluent and working smokers were advantaged. Conclusions: Low use of e-cigarettes by clients and practitioner opinions suggest that further education of SSS staff is needed if they are to adopt the current service recommendations about e-cigarettes.
Highlights
We have undertaken four online surveys of Stop Smoking Service (SSS) practitioners in England, between 2011 and 2016, in order to enhance our understanding of e-cigarettes: a fast moving new phenomenon
SSS practitioners who respond to the survey are becoming more positive about e-cigarettes
Local SSS report that the minority of SSS clients who do use e-cigarettes are usually one of the groups that have the highest quit rates. This may suggest that the positive benefits of e-cigarettes as an aid to quitting should be promoted among SSS practitioners
Summary
We have undertaken four online surveys of Stop Smoking Service (SSS) practitioners in England, between 2011 and 2016, in order to enhance our understanding of e-cigarettes: a fast moving new phenomenon. Conclusions: Low use of e-cigarettes by clients and practitioner opinions suggest that further education of SSS staff is needed if they are to adopt the current service recommendations about e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes, which use battery power to create an inhaled aerosol, were first introduced into the UK towards the end of the first decade of the twenty first century (Public Health England (PHE), 2015; Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians, 2016). About 14% of smokers used e-cigarettes in 2015 (UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2017a) corresponding to 5.4% of all adults in April 2016 (note that use among nonsmokers is minimal) (West et al, 2017). E-cigarettes are too new for long-term benefits or harms to be assessed (PHE, 2015)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
