The Great Transition: Exploring the Prevalence and Psychosocial RiskFactors of the Shift from Combustible Tobacco to Vaping among UniversityStudents
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/tk/2k25d.44110Keywords:
Vaping, Nicotine Transition, University Students, Harm Reduction, Psychosocial FactorsAbstract
Traditional cigarette usage has seen an increase in usage being replaced by ENDS (Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems) with the changing culture of smoking away from cigarettes to an electronic device as a result of the change in culture surrounding cigarette use through the "Great Transition" (Harm Reduction Narrative for ENDS). The usage change from Cigarette to ENDS has not been well studied or documented with university students from Developing Nations. The purpose of this Research Study was to determine if/how much the usage change from Cigarettes to ENDS was prevalent among University Students attending the University of Gujrat and how much their views regarding "reduced harm" impacted their decision to use ENDS versus Cigarettes, as well as the psychosocial factors associated with their initiation to use ENDS. An Explanatory Design of Research was used to collect data from 1,200 University Students attending the University of Gujrat using a Multistage Stratified Random Sample Method. SCID-D (DSM-5 TR), DAST, and AUDIT Research Instruments were used to collect the data. The statistical analyses were performed using SPSS-24 (Descriptive statistics).Participants in this study were primarily (53.3%) aged (20 to 22 years), enrolled in BS (93.3%) and comprised a high proportion of (78.1%) male users, with the majority (30.6%) of users in their 7th semester of study. It was also confirmed that students who perceived themselves to be academically under pressure (i.e. attempting to graduate in a shorter timeframe), perceived the perceived harm of using ENDS to be "lower" than traditional cigarettes, were the primary factors attributed to the increasing popularity of ENDS amongst university students.
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