Capsule Commentary on Kalkhoran et al., Patterns of and Reasons for Electronic Cigarette Use in Primary Care Patients

Excerpt

The study by Kalkhoran et al.1 uses data from a smoking-cessation trial to describe e-cigarette use among primary care patients. The study participants were recruited from patients in three primary care practices in San Francisco who were enrolled in a test of a tablet-based intervention. At baseline, they were asked questions about their use of e-cigarettes and reasons for doing so. Of the 788 participants, 52% reported they had ever used an e-cigarette and 20% had used one in the last month. E-cigarette users tended to be younger than non-users, and use was least prevalent at the safety-net general internal medicine practice. Only 9% of current e-cigarette users reported using them daily, and 66% had used them on ≤5 days in the past month. Most e-cigarette users did not know the nicotine content of their devices; seeking assistance in cutting down or quitting conventional cigarettes and reducing harm were the most common reasons for use. …