Knowledge, attitude and practice of e-cigarettes among healthcare professionals and smoking cessation volunteers

BACKGROUND: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarette) are new phenomenon that has been widely accepted. E-cigarettes are so popular that they have quickly become one of the most preferred methods for smoking cessation. Further research is required for future advice on the use of e-cigarettes. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of e-cigarettes among healthcare professionals and cigarette cessation volunteers. METHODS: In a cross-sectional description study, 147 medical professional and 648 smoking cessation clinic patients were enrolled in the study. After enrollment, a 23-item questionnaire designed for the assessment of attendees' knowledge, attitude and practice was administered. Seven questions were designed for knowledge, seven for attitude and seven for practice, and two for general assessment of e-cigarette acceptability as a method to quit smoking. RESULTS: A total of 147 medical professionals and 648 patients of a smoking cessation clinic were enrolled in this study. As for the surveyees' perception of the health threat posed by e-cigarettes compared to standard cigarette, 52.4% of them believed that e-cigarettes are less harmful than standard cigarettes. About 27.2% of patients and 49% of medical professionals believed that more research was warranted on e-cigarettes as a help to quit smoking. Besides, 57.8% of medical professionals believed that e-cigarettes induce addiction? CONCLUSIONS: Based on these two groups' findings, half of the study population believed that e-cigarettes need more research as a help to quit smoking. But, one third of patients tried e-cigarettes in their life. It seems that the main health impact of e-cigarettes, for physicians and smoking cessation clinic patients, has not been cleared yet with currently available data.