Awareness and Use of Heated Tobacco Products among Youth Smokers in Hong Kong: A Cross-Sectional Study

Laurie Long Kwan Ho, William Ho Cheung Li, Ankie Tan Cheung, Wei Xia and Tai Hing Lam
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Laurie Long Kwan Ho: School of Nursing, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
William Ho Cheung Li: School of Nursing, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Ankie Tan Cheung: School of Nursing, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Wei Xia: School of Nursing, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Tai Hing Lam: School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-10

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: heated tobacco products; awareness; tobacco; smoking; substance use; youth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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