Dentistry and Craniofacial Research

Assessment of knowledge of use of electronic cigarettes and its harmful effects amongst young adults

25^th International Conference on Dental Treatment
September 10-11, 2018 Zurich, Switzerland

Vidushi Gupta and Madhu Sharma

Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India

ScientificTracks Abstracts: J Dent Craniofac Res

DOI: 10.21767/2576-392X-C3-008

Abstract

Background: E-cigarette smoking is becoming a fast growing trend amongst the young adults today. The practice of young adults smoking E-cigarettes may have been adopted as a way of smoking cessation or just to follow a trend. However, most people still remain unaware of the detrimental effects of smoking E-cigarettes. The present study was carried out to assess the prevalence of the habit of smoking E-cigarettes and the awareness of harmful effects of the same amongst adults aged 18-23 years. Methods: A questionnaire adopted and modified for using Google forms from Farsalinos K E et al. was used in the study. Participants were requested to fill the survey irrespective of their smoking status after taking consent. Results: The cohort had 710 samples from 6 countries, with the mean age of 20.65±1.701 years. There were 412 females and 298 males in the study. Most of the respondents were from India, the second most common participants were from USA followed by UK. The most common mode of information on existence of E-cigarettes to the participants was from family members, friends followed by the internet search engines and TV/ newspaper advertisements. E-Cigarettes had a prevalence of 5.63% among the cohort (40/710). Among these, 26 participants have been using E-cigarettes for less than 1 year and 2 participants for more than 5 years. E-cigarette smokers also experienced sore throat, cough, headache, dizziness and sleeplessness. Less than half of the young adults were unaware of the amount of nicotine in the E-liquid. Conclusion: Majority of the young population was unaware about the use and harmful effects of E-cigarette. Attempts should be made to spread awareness using media campaigns, educational videos and online surveys.

Biography

Vidushi Gupta is a student of Year III, Bachelors of Dental Sciences in Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Mangalore, Karnataka,India. Madhu Sharma is a student of Year III, Bachelors of Dental Sciences in Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Mangalore, Karnataka, India.

E-mail: guptavidushi28@gmail.com ms7070433@gmail.com