E-cigarette prevalence among Malaysian adults and types and flavors of e-cigarette products used by cigarette smokers who vape: Findings from the 2020 ITC Malaysia Survey

Driezen, Pete; Nordin, Amer Siddiq Amer; Hairi, Farizah Mohd; Yee, Anne; Tajuddin, Nur Amani Ahmad; Hasan, Siti Idayu; Danaee, Mahmoud; Kamaludin, Ina Sharyn; Kaai, Susan; Yan, Mi; Grey, Matthew; Quah, Anne C K; Thompson, Mary E.; Fong, Geoffrey T.

doi:10.18332/tid/146363

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Studies conducted in 2011-2019 have found that 8-14% of Malaysian cigarette smokers use ECs at least monthly 7,10,11 . A more recent study conducted in 2020 found that 17% of daily cigarette smokers in Malaysia also used ECs daily 12 , a striking finding since only 12.8% of cigarette smokers in England used ECs daily in 2020 13 . In summary, these studies suggest that EC use in Malaysia is very high.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Reasons for using e-cigarettes and support for e-cigarette regulations: Findings from the 2020 ITC Malaysia Survey

Hairi¹,

Goh²,

Driezen³

et al. 2022

Tob. Induc. Dis.

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INTRODUCTION Malaysia has the largest e-cigarette (EC) market in Southeast Asia, and it has been estimated that 17% of adult daily cigarette smokers also used ECs on a daily basis in 2020. However, few studies have examined the reasons people use ECs in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study of adult cigarette smokers from Malaysia assessed reasons for EC use and their support for key proposed EC regulations. METHODS Data are from the 2020 International Tobacco Control (ITC) Malaysia Wave 1 Survey of adult (aged ≥18 years) smokers who reported that they used ECs at least monthly (N=459 out of 1047 smokers). Weighted analyses were conducted on EC users' reasons for using ECs and their support for various EC regulations. RESULTS Smokers who used ECs at least monthly were more likely to be male, aged 25-39 years, of Malay ethnicity, married, more highly educated, and living in Peninsular Malaysia. Smokers who used ECs daily reported using ECs to reduce the number of cigarettes smoked (91.3%), pleasant taste (90.1%), to quit smoking (87.9%), and enjoyment (87.5%). Smokers who used ECs less than daily reported using ECs for their pleasant taste (weekly 89.4%, monthly 87.5%), curiosity (weekly 79.5%, monthly 88.8%), being offered EC by someone (weekly 76.3%, monthly 81.6%), and to reduce the number of cigarettes smoked (weekly 76.2%, monthly 77.6%). Smokers who also used ECs were most likely to support EC regulations requiring a minimum purchasing age (88.3%) and limiting nicotine concentration (79.6%), and least likely to support regulations banning EC fruit and candy flavors (27.1%). CONCLUSIONS The most prevalent reasons for using ECs in Malaysia are comparable to those of other ITC countries, including Canada, US, England, and Australia. An understanding of use patterns of ECs, especially their interaction with cigarettes, are important in developing evidence-based regulations in Malaysia.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Reasons for using e-cigarettes and support for e-cigarette regulations: Findings from the 2020 ITC Malaysia Survey

Hairi¹,

Goh²,

Driezen³

et al. 2022

Tob. Induc. Dis.

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“…This is likely due in large measure to the lower prevalence of HTPs (12.0%) compared with ECs (33.8%) among Malaysian smokers, which has also been detected in another ITC MYS1 study. 29 It will be important to track changes in EC and HTP use and their use in attempts to quit in Malaysia over time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intentions to Quit, Quit Attempts, and the Use of Cessation Aids Among Malaysian Adult Smokers: Findings From the 2020 International Tobacco Control (ITC) Malaysia Survey

Kamaludin,

How,

Yee

et al. 2024

Asia Pac J Public Health

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This study examined quitting behavior and use of cessation aids (CAs) among Malaysian adult smokers aged ≥18 years (n = 1,047). Data were from the 2020 International Tobacco Control (ITC) Malaysia Survey were analyzed. A total of 79.9% of Malaysian smokers attempted to quit in the past 12 months and 85.2% intended to quit in the next 6 months. The most common CAs were e-cigarettes (ECs) (61.4%), medication/nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs; 51.0%), and printed materials (36.7%); the least common CA was infoline/quitline services (8.1%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between sociodemographic variables and CAs use. Male smokers were more likely to use infoline/quitline services (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 3.27; P = .034). Malay smokers were more likely to use infoline/quitline services (aOR = 3.36; P = .002), ECs (aOR = 1.90; P = .004), printed materials (aOR = 1.79; P = .009), and in-person services (aOR = 1.75; P = .043). Most Malaysian smokers wanted to quit smoking. Furthermore, ECs were the most popular CAs, highlighting the need to assess the effectiveness of ECs for quitting smoking in Malaysia.

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“…Malaysia has a big e-cigarette market with a prevalence of daily use at 5.8% in 2020 among adults and past 30-day e-cigarette use at 9.1% among youth aged 13–19 years [ 23 ]. E-cigarette marketing and sales are not regulated in Malaysia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marketing claims, promotional strategies, and product information on Malaysian e-cigarette retailer websites-a content analysis

Shroff,

Sreeramareddy

2024

Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy

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Background Marketing and sales of e-cigarettes are unregulated in Malaysia. We analyzed content displayed on e-cigarette retailer websites to identify marketing claims, promotional strategies, and product details in the year 2022. Methods We analyzed 30 Malaysia-based retailer websites using a mixed methods approach. Data were extracted as the frequency of occurrences of marketing claims, presence of regulatory information, product types, and flavors of e-juice as per a predefined codebook based on published literature. We also extracted textual details published on the websites about marketing claims, and slogans. Results Most retailer websites provided contact information and physical store addresses (83%) but only half had ‘click through’ age verification (57%) that seldom needed any identification proof for age (3%). Marketing claims were related to health (47%), smoking cessation (37%), and modernity/trend (37%) and none had health warnings. Promotional strategies were discounts (80%). starter kits (57%) and email subscriptions (53%). Product types displayed were rechargeable (97%) and disposable (87%) devices and e-liquids (90%) of an array of flavors (> 100). Nicotine presence, its concentration, and “nicotine is an addictive chemical” were displayed in 93%, 53%, and 23% of websites respectively. Conclusion Surveillance of content displayed online on e-cigarette retailer websites and regulation of online marketing and sales should be implemented by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. Such measures are needed to prevent access to, and initiation of e-cigarette use among the youth and adults who do not smoke.

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E-cigarette prevalence among Malaysian adults and types and flavors of e-cigarette products used by cigarette smokers who vape: Findings from the 2020 ITC Malaysia Survey

Cited by 11 publications

References 25 publications

Reasons for using e-cigarettes and support for e-cigarette regulations: Findings from the 2020 ITC Malaysia Survey

Reasons for using e-cigarettes and support for e-cigarette regulations: Findings from the 2020 ITC Malaysia Survey

Intentions to Quit, Quit Attempts, and the Use of Cessation Aids Among Malaysian Adult Smokers: Findings From the 2020 International Tobacco Control (ITC) Malaysia Survey

Marketing claims, promotional strategies, and product information on Malaysian e-cigarette retailer websites-a content analysis

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