title: Trends in E-Cigarette Awareness, Trial, and Use Under the Different Regulatory Environments of Australia and the United Kingdom.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  E-cigarettes (ECs) have gained significant attention in recent years. They have been introduced in jurisdictions with divergent existing laws that affect their legality. This provides the opportunity for natural experiments to assess effects of such laws in some cases independent of any formulated government policy. We compare patterns of EC awareness and use over a 3 year period in Australia where laws severely restrict EC availability, with awareness and use in the United Kingdom where ECs are readily available.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data analyzed come from Waves 8 and 9 (collected in 2010 and 2013, respectively) of the International Tobacco Control surveys in Australia and the United Kingdom (approximately 1,500 respondents per wave per country).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Across both waves, EC awareness, trial, and use among current and former smokers were significantly greater in the United Kingdom than in Australia, but all 3 of these measures increased significantly between 2010 and 2013 in both countries, and the rate of increase was equivalent between countries. Seventy-three percent of U.K. respondents reported that their current brands contained nicotine as did 43% in Australia even though sale, possession and/or use of nicotine-containing ECs without a permit are illegal in Australia. EC use was greater among smokers in both countries, at least in part due to less uptake by ex-smokers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EC awareness and use have risen rapidly between 2010 and 2013 among current and former smokers in both Australia and the United Kingdom despite different EC regulatory environments. Substantial numbers in both countries are using ECs that contain nicotine.
authors.affiliation: VicHealth Centre for Tobacco Control, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; Hua.yong@cancervic.org.au.
authors.forename: Hua-Hie
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Yong
authors.affiliation: VicHealth Centre for Tobacco Control, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Australia;
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Borland
authors.affiliation: VicHealth Centre for Tobacco Control, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Australia;
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Balmford
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK;
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McNeill
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK;
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hitchman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada;
authors.forename: Pete
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Driezen
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada;
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada; Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
authors.forename: Geoffrey T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.affiliation: Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors.forename: K Michael
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Cummings
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003132:Commerce; D066300:Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009538:Nicotine / Q000032:analysis; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D009538:Nicotine