Type | Report |
Title | Trends in E-Cigarette and Heated Tobacco Product Use in Urban South Africa |
Author(s) | |
Publication (Day/Month/Year) | 2022 |
Publisher | Tobacco Control Data Initiative; REEP; Development Gateway |
City | Cape Town |
Country/State | South Africa |
URL | https://southafrica.tobaccocontroldata.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/TRENDS-IN-E-CIGARETE-CIG-AND-HEATED-TOBACCO-PRODUCT-USE-IN-URBAN-SOUTH-AFRICA-Final-Report_02.pdf |
Abstract | This report presents results from the South African E-cigarette Survey 2022 which forms part of the Tobacco Control Data Initiative (TCDI). The survey aims to provide data related to the use of electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems (ENDS/ENNDS) and heated tobacco products (HTPs) (collectively termed “novel products” in this report) amongst adults in urban South Africa. The survey also aims to understand how use of these products relates to smoking combustible cigarettes (referred to as “cigarettes” in this report). The survey was specifically designed to estimate the prevalence of novel product use, to describe the demographics of novel product users, and to understand the sequence of use between cigarette smoking and novel product use. By analysing the sequence of use we explore some of the biggest issues around novel products, namely whether (1) novel products might be a gateway to cigarette smoking (on-ramping devices), and (2) if they might be a tool for smoking cessation (off-ramping devices). We present results across four themes – prevalence, sequence of use, patterns of use, and beliefs. The high-level findings from each theme are: Prevalence ? More than one in ten adults in South African urban areas (11.3%) had ever tried novel products. o 4.0% were current regular users of novel products. o 1.5% had used novel products regularly in the past. o 5.8% had experimented with novel products. ? More than half (58%) of all current regular novel product users were also current regular cigarette smokers. The overall prevalence of dual users was 2.3%. ? Experimentation with novel products or cigarettes was followed by regular use for many users. Of those who had ever tried novel products, approximately half (49%) started using them regularly. For comparison, nearly two thirds (64%) of those who had ever tried cigarettes started smoking them regularly. ? Men were significantly more likely than women to use novel products. ? Regular novel product use was most popular among the younger age groups. Sequence of Use ? On-Ramping: One in five (19%) novel product users who had never regularly smoked cigarettes started smoking cigarettes after using novel products. o Among novel product users, this behaviour was more likely among those who were young, male, unemployed, lived in low-income areas and self-identified as Black. ? Off-Ramping: One in eight (13%) cigarette smokers who began using novel products after smoking cigarettes later quit smoking cigarettes. o Most clinical trials characterise lifetime smoking cessation for those who have quit smoking cigarettes for at least 12 months. If this standard were applied, the percentage of lifetime off-rampers would be 7% (or one in fourteen). o This behaviour was more likely among those who were young, employed, lived in high-income areas, and self-identified as White, Coloured, or Indian/Asian. Patterns of Use ? To stop or avoid smoking cigarettes (or other tobacco smoking) was the most commonly cited reason for novel product use (30% of users). ? More than one third (36%) of novel product users did not know the nicotine strength of the novel products they typically used. ? Daily smoking was more common among current cigarette smokers (90%) than daily novel product use was among current novel product users (62%). ? Many novel product users did not know the brand of the novel products they usually used, and amongst those that did, a wide variety of brands were cited. The most common brands mentioned were Twisp (17%), Vuse (15%), and Smok (13%). Beliefs ? Dual users believed that novel products were less addictive and had less health risks than cigarettes, while their beliefs about whether novel products were cheaper or more expensive than cigarettes varied widely. |
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