Electronic nicotine delivery systems (e-cigarettes) as a smoking cessation aid: A survey among pharmacy staff in Queensland, Australia

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Author(s)
Erku, Daniel A
Gartner, Coral E
Do, Jennifer Thi
Morphett, Kylie
Steadman, Kathryn J
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2019
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OBJECTIVES:This study examined views of pharmacy staff regarding the safety of e-cigarettes compared to nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) and conventional cigarettes, as well as views on their regulation in Australia. METHODS:We conducted a cross-sectional survey among pharmacy staff (64 pharmacists and 76 pharmacy assistants) from the greater Brisbane region, Queensland, Australia. The self-administered questionnaire included closed- and open-ended questions that explores pharmacy staff perception on harms of e-cigarettes versus NRT and traditional cigarettes, knowledge of current e-cigarette regulations, views on how ...
View more >OBJECTIVES:This study examined views of pharmacy staff regarding the safety of e-cigarettes compared to nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) and conventional cigarettes, as well as views on their regulation in Australia. METHODS:We conducted a cross-sectional survey among pharmacy staff (64 pharmacists and 76 pharmacy assistants) from the greater Brisbane region, Queensland, Australia. The self-administered questionnaire included closed- and open-ended questions that explores pharmacy staff perception on harms of e-cigarettes versus NRT and traditional cigarettes, knowledge of current e-cigarette regulations, views on how they should be regulated and information needs regarding e-cigarettes. Pearson's chi-square test was employed for computing differences between variables. A content analysis of responses to open-ended questions was also performed. RESULTS:Over 90% of pharmacy staff regarded e-cigarettes without nicotine and NRTs as less harmful than regular tobacco cigarettes. This reduced to 72% for e-cigarettes containing nicotine, with 24% of respondents believing they are equally as harmful as conventional cigarettes. Moreover, few respondents were confident about the short and long term safety of e-cigarettes containing nicotine (36% and 15% respectively) whereas pharmacy staff were more comfortable with the safety of NRTs for short (88%) and long term (35%) use. The majority of respondents believed that e-cigarettes with nicotine should be regulated as a medicine, either requiring a prescription (24%) or sold only by pharmacies (22%), though many believed that they should be regulated in the same way as regular tobacco cigarettes (27%). Some pharmacy staff (39%) reported having been asked about e-cigarettes by customers and 75% believed that their customers would be interested in using e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid. CONCLUSIONS:There is a need to provide evidence-based and customised education for pharmacists regarding e-cigarettes to help them guide their clients.
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View more >OBJECTIVES:This study examined views of pharmacy staff regarding the safety of e-cigarettes compared to nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) and conventional cigarettes, as well as views on their regulation in Australia. METHODS:We conducted a cross-sectional survey among pharmacy staff (64 pharmacists and 76 pharmacy assistants) from the greater Brisbane region, Queensland, Australia. The self-administered questionnaire included closed- and open-ended questions that explores pharmacy staff perception on harms of e-cigarettes versus NRT and traditional cigarettes, knowledge of current e-cigarette regulations, views on how they should be regulated and information needs regarding e-cigarettes. Pearson's chi-square test was employed for computing differences between variables. A content analysis of responses to open-ended questions was also performed. RESULTS:Over 90% of pharmacy staff regarded e-cigarettes without nicotine and NRTs as less harmful than regular tobacco cigarettes. This reduced to 72% for e-cigarettes containing nicotine, with 24% of respondents believing they are equally as harmful as conventional cigarettes. Moreover, few respondents were confident about the short and long term safety of e-cigarettes containing nicotine (36% and 15% respectively) whereas pharmacy staff were more comfortable with the safety of NRTs for short (88%) and long term (35%) use. The majority of respondents believed that e-cigarettes with nicotine should be regulated as a medicine, either requiring a prescription (24%) or sold only by pharmacies (22%), though many believed that they should be regulated in the same way as regular tobacco cigarettes (27%). Some pharmacy staff (39%) reported having been asked about e-cigarettes by customers and 75% believed that their customers would be interested in using e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid. CONCLUSIONS:There is a need to provide evidence-based and customised education for pharmacists regarding e-cigarettes to help them guide their clients.
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Journal Title
Addictive Behaviors
Volume
91
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providing that the work is properly cited.
Subject
Health services and systems
Public health
Psychology