Page 40 - Livre électronique du Congrès National de Pneumologie 2019

IS ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE USE AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR
SMOKING CESSATION ? SURVEY RESULTS FROM A
CONVENIENCE SAMPLE IN TUNISIA

C5

Introduction :

Electronic cigarette (EC) use has risen sharply over the past decade. They are marketed as a
cessation tool but there is lack of evidence concerning whether or not they are an effective tool for
smoking cessation.
Aim : to assess the effectiveness of EC in smoking cessation.

Methods :

This is a 31-item online survey conducted between January and February 2018. Participants were
enrolled on web sites dedicated to EC users in Tunisia. Descriptive analyses characterized
respondents, tobacco consumption, nicotine dependence and smoking cessation attempts before EC.
Data entry and analysis were performed using SPSS software.

Results :

Among the 242 respondents, 232 were smokers before starting EC. They were aged 28.6 ± 8.7 years.
The main forms of tobacco used were cigarettes (82.9%) and Chicha (16.2%). Dependence to
nicotine before EC assessed by simplified fagerström score was moderate (52.3%) to high (32.1%).
Smoking cessation attempts before EC were reported by 69.9% but 81.3% of them did not use any
medical help. 212 individuals were able to quit using EC (87.6%). Nevertheless, after 6 ± (3-12)
months of use, 92.8 % of respondents still use nicotine in their e-liquid.

Conclusion :

We found a beneficial effect of EC in smoking cessation. One should be cautious regarding this result
since it could be biased by the lack of sampling.