More and more Americans now believe e-cigarettes are as harmful as regular cigarettes compared to only two years ago, according to findings from a national survey reported by Medscape.
In 2012, half of respondents (50.7%) participating in the National Cancer Institute’s Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) considered e-cigarettes to be less harmful than regular cigarettes.
In the 2014 survey, just 43.1% considered e-cigarettes less harmful, reported researchers from Ohio State University and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
College graduates were more likely than respondents with a high school or less education to believe e-cigarettes were less harmful than regular cigarettes, and respondents in the highest income category were more likely to believe e-cigarettes were less harmful than those in the lowest income category.
Among current smokers, awareness of e-cigarettes was not associated with quit attempts or quit intentions.
