E-Cigarette Use among Male Smokers in Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Ahmed M. Al Rajeh, Ilias Mahmud, Mahmudul Hassan Al Imam, Muhammad Aziz Rahman, Fariss Al Shehri, Salman Alomayrin, Nawaf Alfazae, Yousif Mohammed Elmosaad and Ibrahim Alasqah ()
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Ahmed M. Al Rajeh: Department of Respiratory Care, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Ilias Mahmud: Department of Public Health, College of Public Health and Health Informatics, Qassim University, Al-Bukairiyah 52741, Saudi Arabia
Mahmudul Hassan Al Imam: School of Health, Medical, and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD 4701, Australia
Muhammad Aziz Rahman: Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation University Australia, Berwick, VIC 3350, Australia
Fariss Al Shehri: Department of Public Health, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Salman Alomayrin: Department of Public Health, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Nawaf Alfazae: Department of Public Health, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Yousif Mohammed Elmosaad: Department of Public Health, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Ibrahim Alasqah: Department of Public Health, College of Public Health and Health Informatics, Qassim University, Al-Bukairiyah 52741, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: E-cigarette use is increasing globally. Recent evidence suggests that e-cigarettes contain harmful substances that could cause adverse health outcomes. This study investigated the prevalence and associated factors of e-cigarette use among male current smokers in Saudi Arabia. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of adult male current smokers in the Al-Ahsa province of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. We performed logistic regression analyses to investigate the factors associated with e-cigarette use among adult male current smokers. 325 current smokers participated in the study. A third of them (33.5%) were e-cigarette users. Almost all the study participants (97.0%) had heard about e-cigarettes. Participants who were occasional smokers (Odds Ratio (OR): 2.28; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.17–4.41) and had good knowledge perception of e-cigarettes (OR 3.49; 95% CI: 2.07–5.90) had higher odds of using e-cigarettes when compared to regular smokers of conventional cigarettes and current smokers with poor knowledge perception of e-cigarettes, respectively. In contrast, private employees (OR: 0.25, 95% CI: 0.07–0.85), and business owners (OR: 0.09, 95% CI: 0.01–0.63) had lower odds of using e-cigarettes compared to unemployed individuals. Compared with non-e-cigarette users, the rate of conventional cigarette smoking per day was significantly lower among e-cigarette users. Use of e-cigarette (OR: 3.57, 95% CI: 2.14–5.98), believing that e-cigarette quitting is hard (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.17–3.49) and trying to quit e-cigarettes (OR: 2.17, 95% CI: 1.1–4.25) were found to be significant predictors of good knowledge perception of e-cigarettes among the current smokers. The use and knowledge perception of e-cigarettes were higher among occasional conventional male cigarette smokers than regular male smokers in Al-Ahsa province. The use of e-cigarettes as smoking cessation aids should be examined further in the Saudi Arabian setting.

Keywords: e-cigarette; cigarette; smoking; Saudi Arabia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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