Spanish Dental student's perceptions about e-cigarettes as tobacco cessation aids

Introduction This study aimed to obtain quantitative information on students’ overall opinions regarding usage, knowledge, and perception of E-cigarettes. Methods An anonymous cross-sectional survey, using self-administered questionnaires, was conducted among dental students from Universidad Europea of Madrid (UE). Results 93 dental students volunteered to participate and successfully completed the administered survey. The sample consisted of 40 male and 53 female students ranging from 18 to 30 years of age. More than half of the surveyed students had heard from various sources that E-cigarettes are a great potential tool for smoking cessation. 41% of the sample agreed that E-cigarettes could be a smoking cessation aid for quitting conventional cigarettes and approximately a third of the sample was “Unsure” about this claim). Moreover, 46% of our students thought that E-cigarettes are less harmful than conventional cigarettes and 53% consider E-cigarettes are a great way for people who smoke to adopt a healthier behavior. Conversely, 45% of our students agreed that E-cigarettes could act as a gateway drug which eventually can lead to smoking conventional cigarettes. 43% of our sample agreed that there were second-hand smoking effects with e-cigarettes, but around 14% of them answered that they were not sure. 48% of our students answered that E-Cigarettes are riskier than people think. Finally, 86% of our students wanted to learn more information about e-cigs Conclusions There is a lack of evidence in the literature regarding the long-term consequences of E-cigarette usage and its effectiveness as a tobacco cessation aid. However, more than half of the surveyed dental students believed that E-Cigarettes are a healthier alternative for people who currently smoke conventional cigarettes. Thus, there is a clear need to implement E-cigarette education within dental school curriculums in Spain to address this gap in knowledge