Search

Objective: We examined menthol cigarette smokers' reactions to Ontario's menthol cigarette ban. Methods: In April 2017, past-year adult menthol cigarette smokers from Ontario, Canada (N = 67; 64.2% women) participated in an online study. Participants generated statements describing their reactions to the ban. Researchers reviewed statements continuously until reaching content saturation, and then removed duplicate statements. Participants sorted the final 79 statements by content similarity and rated each statement from 1 (Definitely NOT true) to 7 (Definitely true). Multidimensional scaling of sorting data generated a cluster map and mean cluster ratings were compared. Results: Seven statement clusters describing reactions to the menthol ban were generated: thoughts about the ban, perceiving the ban as ineffective, emotional reactions to the ban, smoking non-menthol cigarettes, smoking cessation or reduction, alternative menthol cigarette purchasing behaviors, and alternative tobacco use behaviors. Participants rated the thoughts about the ban cluster highest (most true) and alternative tobacco use behaviors cluster lowest (least true). Participants who smoked menthol cigarettes before the ban every day or most days rated clusters higher than pre-ban occasional or rare menthol smokers. Conclusions: Banning menthol cigarettes resulted in reactions including negative feelings about the ban, smoking cessation attempts, and behaviors to find menthol cigarette alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of e-cigarette use among youth and young adults has increased markedly in recent years; however, little is known about young people's perceptions of e-cigarette addiction. This study examines factors associated with self-reported addiction to e-cigarette use among this population., Methods: In 2018, 1048 Canadians aged 16-25 years were recruited through online social media platforms to complete a survey. Quota sampling was used to oversample regular e-cigarette users (vaping at least weekly); these 578 regular users were included in this analysis. Self-perceived addiction was assessed by asking participants if they felt they were 'very', 'somewhat' or 'not at all' addicted to e-cigarettes. A proportional odds model was employed to identify factors associated with the ordinal outcome., Results: Almost half of regular users perceived themselves to be 'not at all addicted', 41% felt they were 'somewhat addicted' and 13% felt they were very addicted to e-cigarettes. Women, former cigarette smokers, daily vapers and those vaping for more than a year were more likely to report higher levels of perceived addiction. Similarly, high sensation-seeking youth, those reading blogs and websites about vaping, those frequently dripping and those using higher nicotine strengths had a greater likelihood of higher perceived addiction than their respective counterparts., Conclusion: More than half of youth and young adult regular e-cigarette users felt they had some level of addiction. The findings identify possible opportunities for targeted programming for education and treatment, as well as potential opportunities for policy change such as maximum allowable nicotine strengths., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Increased electronic cigarette (ECIG) use has motivated new regulations to address the changing landscape of tobacco use and promote public health., Method: This policy scan compares ECIG prevalence and regulations in the European Union (EU), Canada, and the United States (US) at the federal- and local-level to foster a policy dialogue around modern tobacco prevention and control regulations., Results: Among young adults, 40 % in the US, 29 % in Canada, and 28 % in the EU report ever using an ECIG. Results from the policy scan find significant variation in approach to regulating ECIGs. EU member states are subject to the most stringent requirements regarding nicotine concentration regulations, and several member states have also opted to ban flavors and/or require plain packaging or out of sight retail sales. Among EU and US states, taxation is a popular strategy, though taxing strategies vary widely. Regarding youth use, US states have led the way for increasing the legal age of sale to 21 at the federal level, and in Canada recent federal regulations are innovative in their approach to banning advertising that may appeal to youth., Conclusion: Strategies to achieve public health goals related to ECIGs vary widely, with federalism playing an important role in policy innovation, offering opportunities to evaluate their effectiveness and inform future regulations., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Dr. Eissenberg is a paid consultant in litigation against the tobacco industry and also the electronic cigarette industry and is named on a patent for a device that measures the puffing behavior of electronic cigarette users. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest to report., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)