Significant Gap in Perception of E-cigarette Risks Between Smokers and Non-smokers

A significant gap has been identified between smokers and non-smokers regarding their perception of the health risks associated with e-cigarettes.

On the other hand, the study found that the level of acceptance toward tobacco control policies in general was similar between the two groups.

According to the report titled "Public Perception and Acceptance of Tobacco Control Policies," published by the Korea Health Promotion Institute, these findings were based on an online survey of 1,200 adults aged 19 and older nationwide, conducted from November 18 to December 4 of last year.

When asked to rate their agreement with the statement "E-cigarette aerosol is harmful to health" on a 100-point scale, non-smokers scored 93.3 points, while smokers scored 72.8 points, marking a difference of 20.6 points.

Regarding the perception that "e-cigarettes should not be used indoors," non-smokers scored 94.4 points and smokers scored 75.4 points, a gap of 19.0 points.

Furthermore, the perception that "e-cigarettes are as harmful to health as conventional cigarettes" was high among non-smokers at 93.2 points, but reached only 76.5 points among smokers.

Support for tobacco control policies also varied depending on whether the respondents were smokers or non-smokers.

The level of support for "tobacco product pricing" policies showed a 30-point gap, with non-smokers scoring 82.6 points and smokers scoring 52.6 points.

Smokers showed higher levels of consensus on "anti-smoking advertisements and campaigns" and "preventing youth use of tobacco products," with scores of 72.3 points and 72.5 points, respectively, which were higher than in other categories.

The overall acceptance of tobacco control policies was measured at 68.4 points for non-smokers and 66.3 points for smokers.

Policy acceptance was calculated by synthesizing awareness, perceived helpfulness, and satisfaction regarding each policy.

The report stated, "While awareness of the health risks of e-cigarettes is generally high, the significant gap in perception between smokers and non-smokers indicates a need to strengthen the provision of accurate information and policy promotion." It added, "As regulations on synthetic nicotine liquid e-cigarettes are newly applied, efforts to maintain and strengthen policy acceptance are necessary for the stable implementation of the system."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.