In his letter about our article,1 Mendelsohn states that e-cigarettes are popular with Australian smokers. While some groups of smokers in our sample were more likely to be using e-cigarettes, the overall use was relatively low at 9%. Mendelsohn also suggests that the rates of e-cigarette use are increasing, using 2014 data from the New South Wales Population Health Survey as a comparison. However, the samples of our survey and the NSW Population Health Survey are not comparable, with ours being a sample of current smokers and recent quitters and the other being a general population survey.
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- Cancer Institute NSW, Sydney, NSW
- 1. Dunlop S, Lyons C, Dessaix A, Currow D. How are tobacco smokers using e-cigarettes? Patterns of use, reasons for use and places of purchase in New South Wales. Med J Aust 2016; 204: 355. <MJA full text>
- 2. Royal College of Physicians. Nicotine without smoke: tobacco harm reduction. London: RCP, 2016. https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/nicotine-without-smoke-tobacco-harm-reduction-0 (accessed Aug 2016).
- 3. Barrington-Trimis JL, Urman R, Berhane K, et al. E-cigarettes and future cigarette use. Pediatrics 2016; 138: e20160379.