Changes in Family Physicians' Perceptions of Electronic Cigarettes in Tobacco Use Counseling Between 2016 and 2019

Given the recent reports of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) and harm of e-cigarettes, the authors evaluated changes in the use and perception of e-cigarettes as tobacco use cessation tools in 2019 relative to 2016. The authors also evaluated the sources family physicians most commonly use to receive information regarding e-cigarettes.

A cross-sectional online survey of 248 community family physicians in Kansas was conducted from October 2019 to December 2019. An 11-item questionnaire measured the participants' perceptions of recommending e-cigarettes to patients for tobacco cessation. A mixed method approach was used to collect, analyze, and interpret the data. Standard descriptive statistics, Likelihood-Ratio/Fisher's exact tests, and immersion-crystallization methods were used to analyze the data.

The response rate was 59.3% (147/248). The proportion of the family physicians who did not recommend e-cigarettes for tobacco use cessation was significantly higher in 2019 than in 2016 (86% vs. 82%; χ² [1, n = 261] = 12.31; p < 0.01). Several reasons regarding respondents' perceptions of e-cigarettes as tobacco use cessation tools were reported. The medical literature and news media were the top sources where family physicians accessed e-cigarettes information.

Most family physicians did not recommend e-cigarettes for tobacco cessation. Opinions regarding the efficacy and safety of e-cigarettes were influenced by information sources. Future, larger studies would be beneficial to further determine family physicians' beliefs and practices regarding e-cigarettes as tobacco use cessation products.