Perception of adults on electronic cigarettes (E-cigarette) in a malaysian tertiary care centre

Abstract Background Tobacco use is a major preventable cause of premature death and disease. The used of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has gained its popularity recently. Unfortunately, the health impact of e-cigarettes is widely unknown till today. Objective To explore adult's perceptions of risks and benefits to e-cigarettes. Methods This is a cross-sectional single-centre study among young adults in a Malaysian tertiary care centre. A total of 247 young adults in Serdang Hospital were included in this study. A written, self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Result Majority of the respondents of this study consist of Malay female. Although these respondents recorded low usage of both cigarette and e-cigarette, they are highly aware of e-cigarettes. The results showed a high agreement on the perceived risk of e-cigarettes in which majority of them perceived e-cigarettes as harmful to one's health and socially unacceptable. Despite that, a minority of the respondents still believed that e-cigarettes are useful in conforming to the society. Conclusion This study provides fundamental information on their risk and benefit perception to enable appropriate measures to be carried out in tackling young adults engaging with e-cigarettes.