Health professionals’ counseling about electronic cigarettes for smokers and vapers in a country that bans the sales and marketing of electronic cigarettes

Abstract

This study describes the prevalence and correlates of adult smokers’ discussions about electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) with health professionals (HPs), including whether these discussions may lead smokers and vapers to use e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. Methods: We analyzed data from an online survey of Mexican smokers recruited from a consumer panel for marketing research. Participants who had visited an HP in the prior four months (n = 1073) were asked about discussions of e-cigarettes during that visit and whether this led them to try to quit. Logistic models regressed these variables on socio-demographics and tobacco use-related variables. Results: Smokers who also used e-cigarettes (i.e., dual users) were more likely than exclusive smokers to have discussed e-cigarettes with their HP (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 3.96; 95% C.I. 2.73, 5.74), as were those who had recently attempted to quit smoking (AOR = 1.89; 95% C.I. 1.33, 2.7). Of smokers who had discussed e-cigarettes, 53.3% reported that the discussion led them to use e-cigarettes in their quit attempt. Also, dual users (AOR = 2.6; 95% C.I. 1.5, 4.5) and daily smokers (>5 cigarettes per day) (AOR = 3.62; 95% C.I. 1.9, 6.8) were more likely to report being led by their HP to use e-cigarettes in the quit attempt compared to exclusive smokers and non-daily smokers, respectively. Conclusions: Discussions between HP and smokers about e-cigarettes were relatively common in Mexico, where e-cigarettes are banned. These discussions appear driven by the use of e-cigarettes, as well as by greater smoking frequency and intentions to quit smoking.