On December 1, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention pointed out in the latest paper published in the internationally authoritative medical journal “The Lancet Public Health” that Chinese adult e-cigarette users are mainly traditional smokers and non-smokers. Non-smokers rarely use electronic cigarettes.
The study found that Chinese smokers account for about 96.2% of e-cigarette users.
E-cigarettes are not non-smokers first puff.
This study by the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed nearly 400,000 adults. It is the first time to report on the current status and changing trends of e-cigarette use in China from a national level. The reporter noticed that Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Zhou Maigeng, deputy director of the Center for Chronic Diseases of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, are among the authors of the paper.
The paper “E-cigarette use among adults in China: Results of multiple horizontal surveys in 2015-2016 and 2018-2019” published by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
The paper pointed out that in recent years, Chinese e-cigarette users are mainly men and smokers. People who are addicted to cigarettes, want to quit smoking, and understand the dangers of smoking are more likely to choose e-cigarettes. Some insiders pointed out that this not only shows that the effect of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation and harm reduction has been generally recognized by Chinese smokers, but also a powerful counterattack to rumors such as e-cigarettes being the first cigarette for non-smokers.
“China’s regulation of e-cigarettes will affect the health of 16.9 million people. Tailoring policies and public education strategies to specific populations is the top priority of the public health community and decision makers.” The author emphasized in the paper.
This study used the survey data of China’s Chronic Diseases and Nutrition Surveillance in 2015-2016 (189306 people) and 2018-2019 (184475 people), which included nearly 400,000 adults, with a large sample size and national representativeness. The results of the study show that from 2015 to 2019, the adult e-cigarette usage rate in China rose from 1.3% to 1.6%, and male users accounted for about 97%.
Smokers account for an extremely high proportion of e-cigarette users, and the proportion of smokers among new e-cigarette users is also increasing. From 2015 to 2016, smokers accounted for about 93% of Chinese e-cigarette users; from 2018 to 2019, smokers accounted for about 96.2%, that is, non-smokers accounted for less than 4%. The author used the weighted prevalence value to estimate that there were about 16.9 million adult e-cigarette users in China from 2018 to 2019, of which 16.2 million were smokers.
“Non-smokers rarely use electronic cigarettes.” The author of the paper emphasized. This conclusion is also sufficient to prove that e-cigarettes are not “non-smokers’ first puff” as some experts call.
It is reported that in order to cross-validate this conclusion, the research team also conducted a sample survey of 373,781 respondents across the country. The results showed that among the more than 370,000 respondents, only non-smokers converted to e-cigarette users There are 83.
The reporter found that in addition to analyzing the basic characteristics of Chinese e-cigarette users, this study also conducted a detailed evaluation of the use patterns of Chinese e-cigarette users in the dimensions of gender, age, region (urban or rural), and income.
