Inside the adolescent voice: A qualitative analysis of the appeal of different tobacco products

Introduction While cigarette use has decreased, adolescents’ overall use of tobacco (e.g. e-cigarettes, cigars, and hookah) has increased. The purpose of this qualitative study is to highlight the decision-making process of adolescents to use certain products over others and why certain tobacco products appeal to them. Methods Twenty-five participants were recruited from a larger study surveying adolescents’ perceptions and tobacco use (772 high school students). The participants were involved in one-on-one semi-structured phone interviews on the appeal of different tobacco products. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by identifying relevant codes and themes. Results Participants for this study had a mean age of 16.4 (SD=1.2) years; over half (14/25) were female. Three major themes emerged from the interviews: 1) social context and circumstances to use, including using and sharing with peers, and reducing boredom; 2) importance of flavors, smell, taste, smoke tricks, and accessibility of products; and 3) misperceptions and misinformation of product risks. Conclusions The findings that emerged showed why participants favored certain tobacco products, especially e-cigarettes, over others. The results support areas for future research and practice, and inform how interventions can better address the appeal of different tobacco products to ultimately prevent adolescent use.

Abstract licence: CC BY-ND

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