Conference paper
"Vaping not only saved my life, but freed me from a cage": A qualitative analysis of social media discussions about motivations for and barriers to smokers with mental illness switching to e-cigarettes
Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Annual Meeting (Florence, Italy, 08/03/2017 - 11/03/2017)
2017
Metrics
81 Record Views
Abstract
SIGNIFICANCE: Online social media provides a platform for exchanging information about electronic cigarettes between peers. This study aims to gain an understanding of factors that motivate smokers with mental illness to switch to vaping and barriers to switching. We analysed discussions about e-cigarettes on the popular online bulletin board and social networking site Reddit in the context of having a mental illness.
METHODS: Reddit was systematically searched for posts using keywords related to e-cigarettes and mental illness. We used thematic analysis to code the relevant posts into themes under the framework of motivators for and barriers to taking up vaping. RESULTS: A total of 3263 comments from 133 discussion threads and 1682 individual poster IDs were analysed. Around a quarter (24.6%, n=413) of posters self-identified as living with a mental illness, including schizophrenia (2.9%, n=49), depression (47.7%, n=802) and anxiety (54.5%, n=917); 367 (21.8%) reported having multiple diagnoses. Twelve posters (0.7%) identified as being mental health practitioners and 30 (1.8%) were a friend or relative of a person with mental illness. Three themes emerged as the motivators for people with mental illness to take up vaping: 1) Coping with mental illness/self-medication;
2) Quitting smoking and harm reduction; 3) Positive views of caregivers and health practitioners toward vaping. The barriers to taking up vaping included: 1) Not a good enough substitute for cigarettes/psychiatric medicines; 2) Perceived risks of vaping; 3) Concerns about nicotine addiction; 4) Practical difficulties.
DISCUSSION: The discussions revealed that smokers with mental illness are interested in vaping for a number of reasons, but various barriers can prevent them from switching from smoking to vaping. These findings have implications for policy and practice concerning assisting smokers with mental illness to reduce their health risk.
Details
- Title
- "Vaping not only saved my life, but freed me from a cage": A qualitative analysis of social media discussions about motivations for and barriers to smokers with mental illness switching to e-cigarettes
- Creators
- Ratika Sharma - University of QueenslandBritta WiggintonCarla MeurkPauline FordCoral Elizabeth Gartner
- Conference
- Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Annual Meeting (Florence, Italy, 08/03/2017 - 11/03/2017)
- Publisher
- Florence, Italy
- Identifiers
- 991012996193802368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Conference paper