Vape shops: 9 out of 10 give smoking cessation advice

A study carried out by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California looked at the advice given by employees of e-cigarette shops on smoking cessation and sought to assess their level of smoking. knowledge about scientific advances in electronic cigarettes.

To do this, the authors interviewed 121 vape shops in Los Angeles, including various multi-ethnic communities (African-American, Latin-American, Asian, non-Hispanic white), in the form of interviews lasting 35 minutes. It appears that 88% of shops mention smoking cessation and provide advice on the subject. But less than half (45%) have no knowledge of any research on vaping. However, 30% have knowledge of pro-vape studies. In addition, 85% of the employees of these shops have given up smoking for electronic cigarettes and only 15% are vapo-smokers. Those who provide the most weaning advice are those who have less knowledge of scientific research on the e-cig.

For the authors, better employee training programs and education campaigns could only benefit consumers.

Vape Shop Employees: Do They Act as Smoking Cessation Counselors? Artur Galimov & coll.Nicotine & Tobacco Research, ntaa 218, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntaa218