Study, evaluation and opinion of adolescents about electronic cigarettes in the city of Basrah

Abstract

Studies have shown that electronic cigarettes have gained immense popularity and their use has increased dramatically all over the world. However, little is known about the Study, evaluation and opinion e-cigarettes in third world countries such as Iraq . The aim of this study was to determine the perceptions of teenagers in Basra city e-cigarettes and whether the differences in said perceptions were affected by gender and level of education. We conducted a cross-sectional study in October 2019.throughout January 2020, using convenience sampling and interviewed 403 young individuals, aged 13 to ≤18years, to determine their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding e-cigarettes. The participants were questioned about their knowledge and its source. Attitudes were judged using four and five-point Likert scales while questions regarding practices focused on single and current use SPSS tests were applied to compare the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of teenagers with gender and level of schooling  .The majority of participants knew what ecigarettes were (68.7%) but did not know about their contents (55.8%) and had learned about them from either friends or the internet ( 60.%). Almost half of them ( 47.2%) believed that the reason for e- cigarette use was either peer pressure or to quit smoking conventional cigarettes. An overwhelming majority also stated that; it was either easy or very easy to obtain e-cigarettes (, 68.7%), they would not try smoking e-cigarettes even if a good friend of theirs recommended them (, 71.2%), they were not current e-cigarette smokers (, 91.8) and they would never promote e-cigarette use (, 92.1%). Statistically significant differences were found with males knowing more about e-cigarettes (p=0.006) and being more common to either have smoked (p <0.001) or be current e-cigarette smokers (p <0.001).Furthermore,  middle school students were more likely to have negative attitudes towards e- cigarettes believing they were more harmful (p=0.003) and more addictive (p <0.001) than conventional cigarettes Many people were aware of what electronic cigarettes are but still, it was evident that there was the lack of proper knowledge along with negative attitudes towards e-cigarette use among teenagers in Basra city due to cultural and social status and lack of advertising. Males and females had considerable differences in their opinions regarding e-cigarette use owing to such social practices being considered taboo by females and males having greater freedom due to patriarchal, familial and cultural systems and family relationship.