Identifying factors that conjointly influence nicotine vaping product relative harm perception among smokers and recent ex-smokers: Findings from the 2016 ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Use of nicotine vaping products (NVPs) to replace smoking is often influenced by perceived harmfulness of these products relative to smoking. This study aimed to identify factors that conjointly influenced NVP relative harm perception among smokers and ex-smokers. METHODS: Data (n = 11,838) from adult smokers and ex-smokers (quit < 2 years) who participated in the 2016 ITC 4 Country Smoking and Vaping Surveys in Australia, Canada, England and the US were analyzed. Decision tree models were used to classify respondents into those who perceived vaping as less harmful than smoking ("correct" perception) versus otherwise ("incorrect" perception) based on their socio-demographic, smok..