Abstract

RODRIGUEZ ORQUIOLA, Liz Carolina; CARDENAS LOPEZ, Antonia María José; CACERES AGUILAR, Rodrigo Cristóbal  and  ORTEGA, Edgar. Frequency, attitude and knowledge about electronic cigarrete in medical students. Rev. cient. cienc. salud [online]. 2022, vol.4, n.1, pp.47-53. ISSN 2664-2891.  https://doi.org/10.53732/rccsalud/04.01.2022.47.

Introduction. The prevalence of electronic cigarette (EC) use worldwide has been increasing in recent years, especially in the young population. Objective. To know the frequency, perception and knowledge about the electronic cigarette in medical students of a private university. Methodology. Observational, descriptive cross-sectional study in which the data was collected through a Google form survey. Students received via instant messaging application a link to answer the questionnaire. The variables were: age, sex, use of the electronic cigarette, smoking habit, safety, efficacy as a method to quit smoking, knowledge about the composition of the electronic cigarette. Results. The survey was answered by 506 students, which 219 (43.3%) stated that they used CE. 54.8% of EC users were male and 41.6% were between 22-26 years old. 41.0% consider that EC is safe, that it is an effective method to quit smoking (57.1%), they would use it to quit smoking (68.5%) and that its use should be allowed in public places (57.1%). A significant percentage «does not know» or considers that they «do not have» in their composition, diethylene glycol/propylene glycol (57.1%), glycerin (57.5%) or nicotine (16%), among other compounds that they could contain. Conclusion. The frequency of EC use in medical students at this university is high, most of them support its use and are unaware of its composition. It is necessary to implement effective prevention strategies and inform about the health risks related to their use.

Keywords : electronic nicotine delivery systems; tobacco smoking; safety; smoking cessation; knowledge; composition..

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