Awareness and Use of Heated Tobacco Products among Youth Smokers in Hong Kong: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 17(22)2020 11 19.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-945800
ABSTRACT
The growing popularity of heated tobacco products (HTPs) among youth may act as a gateway for smoking and jeopardize youth health. We aimed to describe the use of HTPs among youth smokers in Hong Kong and examine their risk awareness of HTPs as well as awareness of the proposed legislation. We conducted retrospective data analyses on the Youth Quitline Cohort (n = 731). We extracted participants' sociodemographic data, smoking profiles, and HTP use from 1 January 2017. Participants' HTP use increased from 5.7% in 2017 to 37.9% in 2020. Among the 731 participants, 175 were HTP users and 556 were HTP nonusers. Compared with nonusers, a significantly higher proportion of HTP users had tried using other tobacco products at least once. The most common reason for using HTPs was curiosity. HTP users were more likely than nonusers to misclassify HTPs as e-cigarettes; agree that HTPs were healthier and contained fewer harmful substances than conventional cigarettes; consider HTPs as a smoking cessation aid; and believe that HTPs could reduce conventional cigarette consumption. Overall, 61.2% of youth smokers disagreed with banning HTPs. Risk awareness of HTPs among youth might affect their likelihood of using these products. Stricter regulations on advertising and intensive health education are imperative to avoid misleading information and limit youth exposure to such harmful products.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Tobacco Products
/
Smokers
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph17228575
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