An investigation of factors encouraging and deterring EC use: a thematic analysis of accounts from UK adults

The transition from cigarette smoking to the exclusive or partial use of e-cigarettes: A multi-stage mixed methods study among French university students

BACKGROUND

Few studies have estimated the frequency of e-cigarette use by smoking status among French young adults, and how those who smoke tobacco start and continue to use e-cigarettes. Our aim was to describe e-cigarette use among students who smoked tobacco.

METHODS

A multi-stage, mixed methods study was conducted at the University of Bordeaux between September 2018 and March 2020. The study consisted of three different sub-studies: 1) a cross-sectional study across five campuses (n = 211), 2) a qualitative study (n = 30), and 3) an online cross-sectional study (n = 415). These were combined to form an explanatory sequential design (stage 1) and then a convergent parallel design (stage 2).

RESULTS

Although 41 % of students had tried e-cigarettes at least once in their lifetime, only 7 % were current users. Both e-cigarette experimentation and current use (i.e. occasional or daily use) were mainly found among current and former smokers. Student smokers started using e-cigarettes out of curiosity, with other vapers. Two main factors were identified as intervening in the transition from smoking to sustained vaping: the perception of smoking as problematic and personal commitment to e-cigarette use (i.e. by buying their own device, acquiring technical skills, and increasing the frequency of use). Among current vapers, exclusive vapers and dual users differed in terms of their smoking goals, the role they attributed to e-cigarettes, their identity development and their perceived social or personal benefits.

CONCLUSION

This study highlighted the complexity of the decision-making process for transitioning from smoking to sustained vaping among university students. This required a socially supportive environment and some intrinsic factors, of which the problematization of smoking and personal commitment to vaping were key factors.

Exposure to Aldehyde Cherry e-Liquid Flavoring and Its Vaping Byproduct Disrupt Pulmonary Surfactant Biophysical Function

Over the past decade, there has been a significant rise in the use of vaping devices, particularly among adolescents, raising concerns for effects on respiratory health. Pressingly, many recent vaping-related lung injuries are unexplained by current knowledge, and the overall implications of vaping for respiratory health are poorly understood. This study investigates the effect of hydrophobic vaping liquid chemicals on the pulmonary surfactant biophysical function. We focus on the commonly used flavoring benzaldehyde and its vaping byproduct, benzaldehyde propylene glycol acetal. The study involves rigorous testing of the surfactant biophysical function in Langmuir trough and constrained sessile drop surfactometer experiments with both protein-free synthetic surfactant and hydrophobic protein-containing clinical surfactant models. The study reveals that exposure to these vaping chemicals significantly interferes with the synthetic and clinical surfactant biophysical function. Further atomistic simulations reveal preferential interactions with SP-B and SP-C surfactant proteins. Additionally, data show surfactant lipid-vaping chemical interactions and suggest significant transfer of vaping chemicals to the experimental subphase, indicating a toxicological mechanism for the alveolar epithelium. Our study, therefore, reveals novel mechanisms for the inhalational toxicity of vaping. This highlights the need to reassess the safety of vaping liquids for respiratory health, particularly the use of aldehyde chemicals as vaping flavorings.