Counseling in Vape Shops: A Survey of Vape Shop Managers in Switzerland

Sandra Joss, Anna Moser, Julian Jakob, Kali Tal, Jean-François Etter, Kevin Selby, Anna Schoeni, Philippe Poirson and Reto Auer
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Sandra Joss: Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Anna Moser: Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Julian Jakob: Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Kali Tal: Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Jean-François Etter: Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Kevin Selby: Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
Anna Schoeni: Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Philippe Poirson: Sovape, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Reto Auer: Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-11

Abstract: Vaporizers (e-cigarettes) are the most common smoking cessation aids in Switzerland, but we do not know what information customers receive in vape shops. We surveyed vape-shop managers to find out what recommendations they make to their customers. An interdisciplinary group developed the questionnaire. Respondents self-reported their smoking history, demographics, and the recommendations they thought they would give to hypothetical customers in clinical vignettes. We also queried if they collaborated with health care professionals. Of those contacted, 53.8% (70/130) of vape-shop managers responded, and 52.3% (68/130) were included in the final analysis. Managers were mostly male and ex-smokers who switched to vaporizers; 60.3% would encourage a hypothetical smoker with high nicotine dependence to start with the highest possible nicotine concentration when switching to vaporizers. For this smoker, 36.9% would recommend high (?15 mg/mL), 32.3% medium (6–14 mg/mL), and 3.1% low (1–5 mg/mL) nicotine concentrations. The rest adapted their recommendations to fit the customer or device; 76.5% reported that physicians referred customers to them, and 78.8% would attend a course given by experts in the field of vaporizers and smoking cessation. Vape-shop managers varied widely in the recommendations they gave customers. Most reported ongoing collaboration with health care professionals and were interested in improving their counselling skills through training.

Keywords: e-cigarette; smoking cessation; vape shops (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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