title: Reasons for starting and stopping electronic cigarette use.
abstract: The aim of our study was to explore reasons for starting and then stopping electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use. Among a national sample of 3878 U.S. adults who reported ever trying e-cigarettes, the most common reasons for trying were curiosity (53%); because a friend or family member used, gave, or offered e-cigarettes (34%); and quitting or reducing smoking (30%). Nearly two-thirds (65%) of people who started using e-cigarettes later stopped using them. Discontinuation was more common among those whose main reason for trying was not goal-oriented (e.g., curiosity) than goal-oriented (e.g., quitting smoking) (81% vs. 45%, p < 0.001). The most common reasons for stopping e-cigarette use were that respondents were just experimenting (49%), using e-cigarettes did not feel like smoking cigarettes (15%), and users did not like the taste (14%). Our results suggest there are two categories of e-cigarette users: those who try for goal-oriented reasons and typically continue using and those who try for non-goal-oriented reasons and then typically stop using. Research should distinguish e-cigarette experimenters from motivated users whose decisions to discontinue relate to the utility or experience of use. Depending on whether e-cigarettes prove to be effective smoking cessation tools or whether they deter cessation, public health programs may need distinct strategies to reach and influence different types of users.
authors.affiliation: Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Campus Box 7295, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. pepper@unc.edu.
authors.forename: Jessica K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Pepper
authors.affiliation: Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Campus Box 7295, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. kurt_ribisl@unc.edu.
authors.forename: Kurt M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Ribisl
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 528 Westside Research Office Bldg., 1747 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60608, USA. slemery@uic.edu.
authors.forename: Sherry L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Emery
authors.affiliation: Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Campus Box 7295, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. ntb@unc.edu.
authors.forename: Noel T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Brewer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D066300:Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D061485:Tobacco Use Cessation Devices; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult