%0 Journal Article
%T Electronic Cigarette Awareness, Use, and Perceptions among Cancer Patients
%A Cecelia E. Schmalbach
%A Erin J. Buczek
%A Kathleen F. Harrington
%A Peter S. Hendricks
%J OTO Open
%@ 2473-974X
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/2473974X18774543
%X Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are an emerging trend, yet little is known about their use in the cancer population. The objectives of this study were (1) to describe characteristics of e-cig use among cancer patients, (2) to define e-cig advertising exposure, and (3) to characterize perceptions of traditional cigarettes versus e-cigs. Cross-sectional study. Comprehensive cancer center. Inpatient, current smokers with a cancer diagnosis. E-cig exposure and use were defined using descriptive statistics. Wilcoxon rank test was used to compare perceptions between e-cigs and traditional cigarettes. A total of 979 patients were enrolled in the study; 39 cancer patients were identified. Most cancer patients were women (59%), with an average age of 53.3 years. Of the patients, 46.2% reported e-cig use, most of which (88.9%) was ˇ°experimental or occasional.ˇ± The primary reason for e-cig use was to aid smoking cessation (66.7%), alternative use in nonsmoking areas (22.2%), and ˇ°less riskyˇ± cigarette replacement (5.6%). The most common sources for e-cig information were TV (76.9%), stores (48.7%), friends (35.9%), family (30.8%), and newspapers or magazines (12.8%). Compared with cigarettes, e-cigs were viewed as posing a reduced health risk (P < .001) and conferring a less negative social impression (P < .001). They were also viewed as less likely to satisfy nicotine cravings (P = .002), to relieve boredom (P = .0005), to have a calming effect (P < .001), and as tasting pleasant (P = .006) E-cig use and advertising exposure are common among cancer patients. E-cig use is perceived as healthier and more socially acceptable but less likely to produce a number of desired consequences of cigarette use
%K electronic cigarettes
%K smoking cessation
%K cancer patients
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2473974X18774543