Views and preferences for nicotine products as an alternative to smoking: a focus group study of people living with mental disorders

Carla Meurk; Pauline Ford; Ratika Sharma; Lisa Fitzgerald; Coral Gartner

doi:10.3390/ijerph13111166

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Views and preferences for nicotine products as an alternative to smoking: a focus group study of people living with mental disorders

Journal article

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Views and preferences for nicotine products as an alternative to smoking: a focus group study of people living with mental disorders

Carla Meurk, Pauline Ford, Ratika Sharma, Lisa Fitzgerald and Coral Gartner

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol.13(11), 1166

11/2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13111166

PMID: 27886046

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Abstract

consumer preferences

nicotine products

people living with mental illness

qualitative research

tobacco harm reduction

Aims and Background: People living with mental disorders experience a disproportionately higher burden of tobacco-related disease than the general population. Long-term substitution with less harmful nicotine products could reduce the tobacco-related harm among this population. This study investigated the views and preferences of people with mental health disorders about different nicotine products and their use as long-term substitutes for cigarettes. Methods: Semi-structured focus group discussion followed by a brief questionnaire. The discussion transcripts were analysed for content and themes and quantitative data summarised with descriptive statistics. Results: Twenty-nine participants took part in four focus groups. Vaping devices were the most acceptable nicotine products discussed; however preferences for nicotine products were individual and varied along aesthetic, pragmatic, sensory and symbolic dimensions. The concept of tobacco harm reduction was unfamiliar to participants, however they generally agreed with the logic of replacing cigarettes with less harmful nicotine products. Barriers to activating tobacco harm reduction included the symbolism of smoking and quitting; the importance placed on health; the consumer appeal of alternatives; and cost implications. Discussion and Conclusions: Engaging this population in tobacco harm reduction options will require communication that challenges black and white thinking (a conceptual framework in which smoking cigarettes or quitting all nicotine are the only legitimate options) as in practice this serves to support the continuance of smoking. Consumers should be encouraged to trial a range of nicotine products to find the most acceptable alternative to smoking that reduces health harms. Providing incentives to switch to nicotine products could help overcome barriers to using less harmful nicotine products among mental health consumers.

Details

Title: Views and preferences for nicotine products as an alternative to smoking: a focus group study of people living with mental disorders
Creators: Carla Meurk - Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research
Pauline Ford - University of Queensland
Ratika Sharma - University of Queensland
Lisa Fitzgerald - University of Queensland
Coral Gartner - University of Queensland
Publication Details: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol.13(11), 1166
Publisher: MDPI
Identifiers: 991012996491702368
Copyright: © 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Academic Unit: Faculty of Health
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

Views and preferences for nicotine products as an alternative to smoking: a focus group study of people living with mental disorders

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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