Original Paper: Informing Young Adults about the Risks of Using Electronic Cigarettes: A Pilot Study of an Informational Mobile Phone Text Messaging Program (Preprint)

Abstract

Young adults are rapidly adopting electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use. E-cigarettes’ popularity among young people can be attributed to heavy industry advertising and misleading health claims. Data indicate young e-cigarette users who never used conventional cigarettes are now progressing toward smoking combustible cigarettes. Literature documents the influence of text messaging as a delivery mode to support participants in behavioral interventions. Communicating e-cigarette risks via text messaging has not been tested.

This pilot study assessed the impact of exposure to text messages on e-cigarette knowledge and risk perception outcomes.

A 2-group randomized pretest and posttest study was conducted among young men and women recruited from vocational training programs. Personal phones were used to receive messages and 95 racially and ethnically diverse participants completed a pretest and posttest. Fifty percent were randomized to either receive gain- or loss-framed messages that integrated the latest scientific findings about e-cigarettes. All messages used wording suitable for audiences with low health literacy. Knowledge and risk perceptions about e-cigarettes and tobacco use were assessed pretest and posttest after message exposure.

The mean age of participants was 20.8 (SD = 1.7). At pretest, approximately 10.5% of the (n=10/95) participants were current e-cigarette users, and 27.4% (n=26/95) used a variety of tobacco products. Participants randomized to gain-framed messages reported a statistically significant higher risk perception for using e-cigarettes at posttest than those who received loss-framed messages (P = .018). After message exposure there was no change in use of e-cigarettes or other tobacco products.

Young adults were informed that e-cigarette use may lead to addiction to nicotine and other consequences. Delivery of effective text messages such as those tested in this pilot can assist young consumers to evaluate and make decisions about e-cigarettes and other evolving tobacco products.

This was a pilot study and not a clinical trial, thus the project was not registered.