Table 2.
Final List of E-Cigarette Belief Statements Generated Across Three Methods
| Theme | Belief Statementa |
|---|---|
| Addiction | |
| 1 | …I will not be able to stop if I wanted to. |
| 2 | …it will be hard for me to put it down. |
| 3 | …I will become addicted. |
| 4 | …I will become addicted to nicotine. |
| Cessation | |
| 5 | If I smoked tobacco cigarettes, vaping or using e-cigarettes every day (starting to vape or use e-cigarettes) will help me quit. |
| 6 | If I smoked tobacco cigarettes, vaping or using e-cigarettes every day (starting to vape or use e-cigarettes) will work better than other quitting aids in helping me quit. |
| 7 | If I smoked tobacco cigarettes, vaping or using e-cigarettes every day (starting to vape or use e-cigarettes) will help me reduce the number of cigarettes I smoke. |
| Opportunities for Social Interaction | |
| 8 | …I will be able to socialize with other people who vape. |
| 9 | …it will be a good conversation starter. |
| 10 | …I will fit in with my peers. |
| 11 | …I will feel like less of an outcast. |
| 12 | …I will be accepted by others. |
| 13 | …I will be able to share my e-cigarette with friends. |
| 14 | …it will help me make friends. |
| E-Cigarette Specific Risk | |
| 15 | …I will be exposed to harmful vapor. |
| 16 | …I will have to worry about an e-cigarettes catching fire or exploding. |
| 17 | …I will be exposed to dangerous ingredients. |
| 18 | …I will worry about liquid chemicals from refills leaking on clothes or furniture. |
| Cosmetic Effects | |
| 19 | …I won’t smell like smoke. |
| 20 | …I will like the way I looked using them. |
| 21 | …I won’t stain my fingers or clothes. |
| 22 | …I won’t have bad breath. |
| 23 | …my teeth won’t be discolored. |
| 24 | …I will be able to keep my weight down. |
| Enjoyment & Mood | |
| 25 | …I will have fun. |
| 26 | …I will get a nice buzz. |
| 27 | …I will enjoy making vape clouds. |
| 28 | …I will enjoy the taste. |
| 29 | …it will help me concentrate. |
| 30 | …I will have something to do with my hands. |
| 31 | …I will have something to do when I was bored. |
| Ease of Use | |
| 32 | …it will be convenient to carry them with me. |
| 33 | …it will be easy for me to hide them. |
| 34 | …it will be easy for me to use them. |
| Relaxation & Mental Health | |
| 35 | …it will relax me. |
| 36 | …it will clear my mind. |
| 37 | …it will calm my nerves. |
| 38 | …it will reduce my stress. |
| 39 | …it will be better for reducing stress than medications. |
| 40 | …it will help when I am upset or angry about something. |
| Cost (Financial) | |
| 41 | …I will have to spend a lot of money buying refills/juice. |
| 42 | …I will have to spend a lot of money buying the device. |
| 43 | …it will be expensive for me. |
| 44 | …it will be a waste of my money. |
| Modification | |
| 45 | …I will be able to control my level of nicotine exposure. |
| 46 | …I will enjoy the fun of being able to DIY (do-it-yourself) my own e-cigarettes. |
| 47 | …I will be able to modify all parts of the vaping experience. |
| 48 | …I will be able to get an e-cigarette without nicotine. |
| Health Effects - Short Term | |
| 49 | …I will have sinus issues. |
| 50 | …I will feel dizzy or have headaches. |
| 51 | …I will have a dry, itchy throat. |
| 52 | …I will be dehydrated. |
| 53 | …I will get a bad cough. |
| 54 | …I will have a hard time breathing. |
| 55 | …it will decrease my sports performance. |
| Health Effects - Long Term | |
| 56 | …I will get oral (mouth) cancer. |
| 57 | …I will get lung cancer. |
| 58 | …it will harm my lungs. |
| 59 | …I will get sick because it will weaken my immune system. |
| 60 | …I will develop sexual and/or fertility problems. |
| 61 | …it will change my brain. |
| Social Perceptions - Pro | |
| 62 | …I will look cool. |
| 63 | …I will look confident. |
| 64 | …I will look attractive. |
| Social Perceptions - Anti | |
| 65 | …I will look immature. |
| 66 | …I will look stupid. |
| 67 | …I will look ridiculous. |
| Gateway & Polyuse | |
| 68 | …I will be more likely to use tobacco cigarettes. |
| 69 | …I will be more likely to use marijuana. |
| 70 | …I will be more likely to use other drugs. |
| 71 | …I will be more likely to use other tobacco products, such as cigarillos and hookah. |
| Harm to Others | |
| 72 | …it will be harmful to my friends’ health. |
| 73 | …it will be harmful to my family’s health. |
| 74 | …it will harm others around me. |
| 75 | …it will produce secondhand smoke. |
| 76 | …it will bother people around me. |
| 77 | …it will expose others to chemicals absorbed through the skin. |
| 78 | …it will be harmful to the environment. |
| Policy - Public Restrictions | |
| 79 | …I will be able to use them in indoor spaces such as restaurants and theaters. |
| 80 | …I will be able to use them in outdoor spaces such as parks. |
| 81 | …I will be able to carry them on airplanes. |
| Policy - Purchase Restrictions | |
| 82 | …I will not be allowed to purchase them because I’m too young. |
| 83 | …I will have to pay tobacco taxes on them. |
| 84 | …I will not be able to purchase them in places near my school or home. |
| Tobacco Industry | |
| 85 | …I will be purchasing products from the same people that make tobacco products. |
| 86 | …I will be supporting the tobacco industry. |
| 87 | …I will feel manipulated by the tobacco companies. |
| Technology | |
| 88 | …I will feel like I am part of tech culture. |
| 89 | …I will be using a futuristic device. |
| 90 | …I will feel like I am using a cutting-edge product. |
| Chemicals | |
| 91 | …I will inhale nicotine. |
| 92 | …I will inhale poisons. |
| 93 | …I will be exposed to toxic chemicals. |
| 94 | …I will be exposed to toxic metals such as chromium, nickel, and lead. |
| 95 | …I will be exposed to propylene glycol, which can lead to skin irritation. |
| 96 | …I will be exposed to formaldehyde, which can lead to eye, nose, and throat irritation. |
| 97 | …I will be exposed to diacetyl, which can lead to “popcorn lung” (lung scarring). |
| 98 | …I will be exposed to aerosol, which may contain harmful particles. |
| 99 | …I will be exposed to hormones. |
| 100 | …I will be exposed to charcoal. |
| 101 | …I will be exposed to tar. |
| Flavors | |
| 102 | …I will be able to use a variety of flavors I like. |
| 103 | …I will enjoy trying different e-cigarette products and flavors with friends. |
| 104 | …the flavor additives will not harm me. |
| Comparison to Cigarettes | |
| 105 | …it will not bother people around me as much as tobacco cigarettes do. |
| 106 | …I will avoid chemicals found in tobacco cigarettes. |
| 107 | …it will be cleaner than smoking tobacco cigarettes. |
| 108 | …I will be able to get them more easily than tobacco cigarettes. |
| 109 | …they will be cheaper than smoking tobacco cigarettes. |
| 110 | …it will be less harmful than smoking tobacco cigarettes. |
| 111 | …it will taste better than smoking tobacco cigarettes. |
| 112 | …it will be less harmful to others than smoking tobacco cigarettes. |
| 113 | …I will be able to use e-cigarettes where tobacco cigarette smoking is not allowed. |
| 114 | …I will not be exposed to the tar found in tobacco cigarettes. |
| 115 | …it will be less addictive than tobacco cigarettes. |
a
Individuals hold specific beliefs about a behavior,1 though sets of beliefs can be collapsed into a larger campaign theme. Different messages can address specific beliefs, but several messages can address the larger theme. For example, the effects of cigarette smoking on “headaches,” “lung disease,” and “cancer” could all be collapsed into the larger theme of “health effects.” Our work explores identifying larger campaign themes (which could represent a whole campaign strategy) and specific beliefs (which could underpin distinct messages). Therefore, we refer to theme-level and belief-level separately.
b
There were two stems that preceded each belief question: “If I vape or use e-cigarettes every day” or “If I start vaping or using e-cigarettes,” followed by the benefit or negative consequence (e.g., “….it will harm others around me”). Each participant was randomly assigned to one of those stems for all of the belief statements. In the analyses the responses from both stems were collapsed, as preliminary analyses indicated that the two stem conditions produced results that were largely similar to one another, and by combining the data, we were able to increase the sample size and hence the stability of our results.