Open AccessPublic Attitudes towards E-Cigarette Regulations and Policies in Taiwan
Author(s) -
Chin-Shui Shih,
JeanFrançois Etter
Publication year - 2020
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.579
H-Index - 13
ISSN - 2279-9028
DOI - 10.4081/jphr.2020.1698
Subject(s) - public health , environmental health , nicotine , cigarette smoking , sample (material) , medicine , advertising , business , chemistry , nursing , chromatography
Background There are various approaches to e-cigarette regulation globally. In Taiwan, the term “e-cigarette” is not found in existing regulations, but health authorities apply explanatory notes derived from standing laws to e-cigarette. Taiwan health authority is in the process of regulative reform to include “e-cigarette” in standing tobacco law. Our objective was to investigate the public's attitudes towards potential policy options for e-cigarette regulations in Taiwan.Design and methods We conduct an anonymous online survey in the general public. A questionnaire in Mandarin was posted on the website Stop-tabac.ch between July and November 2017.Results Participants (n=236) were mostly male, young, highly educated, employed, and smoked or had smoked cigarettes in the past. Half were e-cigarette users. Four measures banning ecigarettes, labelling content and nicotine level and establishing a maximum-allowable nicotine level were supported by more than 70% of participants. Vaping status was strongly associated with support for most measures after controlling for other factors in multivariate models.Conclusion We documented attitudes of a self-selected sample of the general public in Taiwan regarding e-cigarette regulations and policies. These results may be useful to design studies in more representative samples and to inform e-cigarette regulations, policies and education campaigns.