Electronic nicotine delivery systems (e-cigarettes) as a smoking cessation aid: A survey among pharmacy staff in Queensland, Australia.
Daniel A Erku, Coral E Gartner, Jennifer Thi Do, Kylie Morphett, Kathryn J Steadman
Author Information
Daniel A Erku: School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba 4102, Queensland, Australia; School of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Ethiopia. Electronic address: d.erku@uq.edu.au.
Coral E Gartner: School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston Road, Herston 4006, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: c.gartner@uq.edu.au.
Jennifer Thi Do: School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba 4102, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: thi.do7@uqconnect.edu.au.
Kylie Morphett: School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston Road, Herston 4006, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: k.morphett@uq.edu.au.
Kathryn J Steadman: School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba 4102, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: k.steadman@uq.edu.au.
OBJECTIVES: This study examined views of pharmacy staff regarding the safety of e-cigarettes compared to nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) and conventional cigarettes, as well as views on their regulation in Australia. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among pharmacy staff (64 pharmacists and 76 pharmacy assistants) from the greater Brisbane region, Queensland, Australia. The self-administered questionnaire included closed- and open-ended questions that explores pharmacy staff perception on harms of e-cigarettes versus NRT and traditional cigarettes, knowledge of current e-cigarette regulations, views on how they should be regulated and information needs regarding e-cigarettes. Pearson's chi-square test was employed for computing differences between variables. A content analysis of responses to open-ended questions was also performed. RESULTS: Over 90% of pharmacy staff regarded e-cigarettes without nicotine and NRTs as less harmful than regular tobacco cigarettes. This reduced to 72% for e-cigarettes containing nicotine, with 24% of respondents believing they are equally as harmful as conventional cigarettes. Moreover, few respondents were confident about the short and long term safety of e-cigarettes containing nicotine (36% and 15% respectively) whereas pharmacy staff were more comfortable with the safety of NRTs for short (88%) and long term (35%) use. The majority of respondents believed that e-cigarettes with nicotine should be regulated as a medicine, either requiring a prescription (24%) or sold only by pharmacies (22%), though many believed that they should be regulated in the same way as regular tobacco cigarettes (27%). Some pharmacy staff (39%) reported having been asked about e-cigarettes by customers and 75% believed that their customers would be interested in using e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to provide evidence-based and customised education for pharmacists regarding e-cigarettes to help them guide their clients.
