The use of e-cigarettes among university students in Malaysia

• Published in: Tobacco Induced Diseases
• Main Author: Wan Puteh S.E.; Manap R.A.; Hassan T.M.; Ahmad I.S.; Idris I.B.; Sham F.M.; Yu Lin A.B.; Soo C.I.; Pakri Mohamed R.M.; Mokhtar A.I.; Zakaria H.; Lee J.; Amer Nordin A.S.; Ariaratnam S.; Mohd Yusoff M.Z.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Society for the Prevention of Tobacco Induced Diseases 2018
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85059899998&doi=10.18332%2ftid%2f99539&partnerID=40&md5=70aef866970607f2825d2b9f0389193b

INTRODUCTION E-cigarette use is an emerging phenomenon with increasing recognition and acceptance globally. This study aims to create a profile of e-cigarette users among university students in Malaysia. METHODS The study was conducted using a cross-sectional research involving six universities in Malaysia. A semi-structured questionnaire was distributed to 1302 randomly selected students, who either smoked cigarettes and/or e-cigarettes. The 2011 version of Global Adult Tobacco Surveys (GATS) tool was used to record the respondents’ sociodemographic data. RESULTS The study revealed that 74.9% of the respondents smoked e-cigarettes; 40.3% used both cigarettes and e-cigarettes (dual users), and 34.5% were exclusive e-cigarette users. The exclusive use of e-cigarettes was related to gender (OR=0.18, 95% CI: 0.09–0.39). Also, male respondents were the majority users (95%). Of the respondents, 75.2 % were Malays, 98.0% single and most believed they have no health problems (92.1%). Further findings revealed the occurrence of adverse effects, dizziness 14.4%, cough 14.1%, and headaches 12.4%. Overall, 57.8% of the respondents used e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool, while others consider e-cigarettes a self-image enhancing tool or as part of social activities. CONCLUSIONS Further research on the use of e-cigarettes should be conducted on a large number of respondents in other settings to augment the findings of this study, and also guide policy making on and prevention practice of e-cigarette use, among the general student population in Malaysia. © 2018 EMH Swiss Medical Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.