New research seeks to discover how vaping can help smokers quit

The rapid emergence of vaping (e-cigarette use) has led a University of Queensland researcher to seek Australian participants for a large-scale international study.

School of Public Health Senior Research Fellow, Dr Coral Gartner, said there is a need for quality research on vaping as a harm reduction strategy, as well as how policy impacts vaping and smoking behaviour – particularly smoking cessation.

“We are looking for 600 vapers in Australia to take part in the study which involves completing three online surveys over five years,” Dr Gartner said.

“Data from the Australian study group will also be compared to participants in Canada, the UK and the USA.

“This is an opportunity for vapers in our community to share their experiences and tell us how regulations affect them.”

Dr Gartner said she is also interested in the extent to which people vape without nicotine to replace behavioural aspects of smoking, such as inhaling and exhaling a mist, compared to vaping with nicotine to replace the nicotine they previously obtained from cigarettes.

“We will look at factors such as the type of device that is used, knowledge and attitudes about smoking and vaping, and views on how these should be regulated.

“We plan to follow participants over the five-year period to allow us to find out how their behaviour changes and how any changes in regulations during that time affect them,” she said.

Participants need to be aged 18 years or older and currently vaping at least weekly, either with or without nicotine.

Click here to find out more and click here to register your interest in participating in this research.

Media: Dr Coral Gartner, c.gartner@uq.edu.au, +61 7 334 65478, 0422 925 062; Bernadette O’Connor, bernadette.oconnor@uq.edu.au, +61 7 3365 5118, 0431 533 209.