Electronic cigarette and combustible cigarette use following a campus-wide ban: Prevalence of use and harm perceptions

Abstract

The current study examined changes in prevalence of e-cigarette use and perceptions of the harmfulness of e-cigarette and combustible cigarettes following a campus-wide tobacco ban. Undergraduate students completed surveys of tobacco use and perceived product harmfulness. Four samples were collected: in 2013 prior to the ban (n = 792) and in fall 2014 (n = 310), 2015 (n = 208), and 2016 (n = 417). E-cigarette use increased in the years following the ban (p = .01) while combustible cigarette use decreased from 2013 to 2016 (p = .02). Men were more likely than women to use both products (ps < .05). Students’ perceptions of the harmfulness of combustible and electronic cigarettes remained stable in the years following the ban (p > .05). This study is the first to examine the impact of including e-cigarettes in tobacco free policies. Combustible cigarette use declined, but e-cigarette use increased in the years following the e-cigarette ban. Prospective research is needed to understand the long-term impacts of e-cigarette bans.

Keywords:

• Campus tobacco ban
• combustible cigarette
• electronic cigarette
• smoking

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of The Oklahoma State University.

Funding

Eleanor Leaven’s contribution to this project was supported by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (F31 DA04252). Ellen Meier’s contribution to this project was supported by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (T32 DA007097). Theodore Wagener’s contribution to this project was supported by the National Cancer Institute (R01 CA204891), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R03 DA041928), and the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust. NIH/NIDA had no role in study design; data collection, analysis, or interpretation; manuscript preparation; or the decision to submit the paper for publication.