Table 2.
Differences in Nicotine and Cigarette Beliefs, by Study Condition
| Study condition |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Beliefs | Nicotine messaging (n=263) | Combined controls (n=258) | p-value |
| Thinking about the harm that individual substances within a cigarette may cause, how much harm comes froma | |||
| Substances produced when raw tobacco burns? (missing=25) | 3.30 (1.31) | 3.21 (1.26) | 0.44 |
| The nicotine in a cigarette? (missing=23) | 2.34 (1.36) | 3.13 (1.29) | <0.001 |
| Naturally occurring substances in tobacco? (missing=23) | 2.66 (1.23) | 2.70 (1.21) | 0.69 |
| Things that are added to cigarettes during the manufacturing process? (missing=23) | 3.94 (1.11) | 3.91 (1.13) | 0.79 |
| Nicotine false beliefs | |||
| Nicotine is a cause of cancerb | <0.001 | ||
| False | 78.3 | 36.8 | |
| Don’t know | 5.3 | 26.0 | |
| True | 16.4 | 37.2 | |
| In your opinion, how large a part of the health risks of cigarette smoking comes from the nicotine itself?b | <0.001 | ||
| None/small part | 76.4 | 55.8 | |
| Large/very large part | 23.6 | 44.2 | |
| In your opinion, how large a part of the cancer caused by cigarette smoking comes from the nicotine itself?b | <0.001 | ||
| None/small part | 84.0 | 62.8 | |
| Large/very large part | 16.0 | 37.2 | |
| Nicotine false beliefs scale (α=0.86)a,c | 4.90 (2.06) | 6.71 (2.48) | <0.001 |
| NRT false beliefs | |||
| It is easy to get addicted to nicotine gumb | 0.321 | ||
| False | 13.3 | 11.6 | |
| Don’t know | 26.2 | 32.2 | |
| True | 60.5 | 56.2 | |
| Long term use of nicotine from patches or gums is almost as harmful to health as cigarette smokingb | <0.001 | ||
| False | 59.3 | 33.7 | |
| Don’t know | 21.3 | 24.4 | |
| True | 19.4 | 41.9 | |
| Are nicotine products (like gum, patches, lozenges) more likely, about the same, or less likely to cause someone to become addicted as regular cigarettes?b | 0.016 | ||
| Less likely | 40.7 | 29.1 | |
| About the same | 47.9 | 55.0 | |
| More likely | 11.4 | 15.9 | |
| Are nicotine products (like gum, patches, lozenges) more likely, about the same, or less likely to cause someone to have a heart attack as regular cigarettes?b(missing=1) | <0.001 | ||
| Less likely | 62.7 | 44.7 | |
| About the same | 27.8 | 44.4 | |
| More likely | 9.5 | 10.9 | |
| Are nicotine products (like gum, patches, lozenges) more likely, about the same, or less likely to cause cancer as regular cigarettes?b | 0.001 | ||
| Less likely | 72.2 | 56.2 | |
| About the same | 22.1 | 32.9 | |
| More likely | 5.7 | 10.9 | |
| Relative harm of nicotine products (like gum, patches, lozenges) compared to cigarettesb | 0.010 | ||
| Less harmful | 76.4 | 64.3 | |
| About the same | 16.0 | 24.0 | |
| More harmful | 7.6 | 11.6 | |
| NRT false beliefs scale (α=0.74)a,d | 9.89 (2.63) | 11.07 (2.84) | <0.001 |
| E-cigarette false beliefs | |||
| Long term use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is almost as harmful to health as cigarette smokingb | 0.022 | ||
| False | 35.0 | 30.6 | |
| Don’t know | 27.8 | 20.5 | |
| True | 37.3 | 48.8 | |
| Are electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) more likely, about the same, or less likely to cause someone to have a heart attack as regular cigarettes?b (missing=1) | 0.059 | ||
| Less likely | 52.9 | 42.8 | |
| About the same | 38.4 | 48.2 | |
| More likely | 8.7 | 8.9 | |
| Are electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) more likely, about the same, or less likely to cause cancer as regular cigarettes?b (missing=1) | 0.038 | ||
| Less likely | 57.0 | 47.1 | |
| About the same | 34.2 | 45.1 | |
| More likely | 8.7 | 7.8 | |
| Relative harm of e-cigarettes (like JUUL, Vuse, MarkTen, blu, or Joyetech) compared to cigarettesb (missing=2) | 0.463 | ||
| Less harmful | 61.3 | 56.6 | |
| About the same | 28.4 | 33.3 | |
| More harmful | 10.3 | 10.1 | |
| E-cigarette false beliefs scale (α=0.79)a,e | 6.58 (2.21) | 6.97 (2.24) | 0.043 |
| Reduced nicotine content cigarette false beliefs | |||
| Cigarettes that are lower in nicotine are less likely to cause cancer than regular cigarettesa | 2.05 (1.07) | 2.29 (1.01) | 0.010 |
| Cigarettes that are lower in nicotine are safer than regular cigarettesa | 2.16 (1.11) | 2.32 (1.09) | 0.110 |
| Cigarettes that are lower in nicotine are healthier than regular cigarettesa | 2.10 (1.09) | 2.24 (1.14) | 0.137 |
| Cigarettes that are lower in nicotine have fewer chemicals than regular cigarettesa | 2.14 (1.11) | 2.24 (1.12) | 0.289 |
| Smoking cigarettes that are lower in nicotine make it easier to quit smoking completely compared to regular cigarettesa,f | 2.81 (1.13) | 3.03 (1.10) | 0.024 |
| Cigarettes that are lower in nicotine also have less tar than regular cigarettesa | 2.40 (1.03) | 2.38 (1.03) | 0.810 |
| High nicotine content cigarettes are worse for your health than low nicotine cigarettes, even if you smoke the same number of eacha | 2.63 (1.16) | 2.82 (1.13) | 0.053 |
| A low nicotine cigarette is safer to smoke than a high nicotine cigarette, even if you don’t quita | 2.35 (1.14) | 2.41 (1.08) | 0.545 |
| Low nicotine cigarettes are healthier for you than high nicotine cigarettes even before you quita | 2.53 (1.16) | 2.44 (1.09) | 0.372 |
| RNC cigarette false beliefs scale (α=0.91)a,g | 20.99 (6.80) | 22.16 (6.53) | 0.047 |
Notes: If missing number not provided, there is not missing data on that item. Boldface indicates statistical significance (p<0.05).
a
Mean (SD).
b
Column percent.
c
Nicotine false beliefs scale comprised of 3 items (listed above in this table; range 3–11).
d
NRT false beliefs scale comprised of 6 items (listed above in this table; range 6–18).
e
E-cigarette false beliefs scale comprised of 4 items (listed above in this table; range 3–12).
f
This item was reverse-coded.
g
RNC cigarette false beliefs scale comprised of 9 items (listed above in this table; range 9–39).
NRT, nicotine replacement therapy; RNC, reduced nicotine content.