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ABSTRACT
Background: Electronic cigarettes are often used to promote cessation. Only a few studies have explored the motivations for e-cigarette experimentation among young adults. Objectives: The goals of this study were to assess the intention to try e-cigarettes among Hungarian university students and to develop a motivational scale to measure vulnerability to e-cigarette experimentation. Methods: 826 Hungarian university students completed an internet-based survey in 2013 to measure motives for trying e-cigarettes. We conducted exploratory factor analyses and identified factors that promote and deter experimentation. Logistic regression analysis was performed to test the concurrent predictive validity of the identified motivational factors and we used these factors to predict e-cigarette experimentation, controlling for other known correlates of e-cigarette use. Results: 24.9% of the participants have ever tried an e-cigarette and 17.2% of current nonsmokers experimented with the product. Almost 11% of respondents intended to try an e-cigarette in the future, yet only 0.6% were current e-cigarette users. Six factors were identified in the motivational scale for experimentation, four that promote usage (health benefits/smoking cessation; curiosity/taste variety; perceived social norms; convenience when smoking is prohibited) and two that deter usage (chemical hazard; danger of dependence). In a logistic regression analysis, the curiosity/taste factor was the only motivational factor significantly associated with the intention to try e-cigarettes in the future. Conclusions: This is the first study to test a motivational scale about what motivates e-cigarettes usage among university students. Additional research is needed to better understand these factors and their influence on e-cigarette uptake.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.
Funding
This work was supported by the Fogarty International Center, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institutes on Drug Abuse, within the National Institutes of Health (Grant number 1 R01 TW007927-01). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official view of the National Institutes of Health.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Melinda Pénzes
Melinda Pénzes, M.D., is a Ph.D. student at the Doctoral School of Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. She graduated at the University of Szeged, Hungary and she has a postgraduate specialty in preventive medicine and public health. She works as an assistant lecturer at the Institute of Public Health, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. Her main research interests are tobacco and e-cigarette use among adolescents and young adults.
Kristie L. Foley
Kristie L. Foley, Ph.D., is a professor of Social Sciences and Health Policy at the Wake Forest School of Medicine and Director of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University. Her research focuses on building capacity for tobacco research and control in low-income communities, both domestically and internationally.
Péter Balázs
Péter Balázs, M.D., Ph.D., is a vice director of the Institute of Public Health at Semmelweis University, Budapest. His preferred research field is the general epidemiology and social (legal, economic, ethical) regulation of patients' and providers' behavior.
Róbert Urbán
Róbert Urbán, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Health Psychology at the Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. His main research fields are in health-related behaviors, with a special focus on smoking, psychometric analysis/scale development, and psychosocial epidemiology.