Knowledge, attitude and willingness to counsel patients regarding e-cigarettes among academic health professionals in Malaysia

Introduction Recently electronic cigarettes (EC) have gained in popularity and their use has markedly increased. Health care professionals are unaware of many facts related to EC. This study attempted to analyse the knowledge, attitude and inclination towards giving professional advice to patients regarding EC among health professionals in Universities in Malaysia. Methods A survey was conducted using a validated questionnaire among 120 health professionals in the field of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy. Questionnaire consisting of 16 questions regarding knowledge, awareness and attitudes of health care professionals about EC was used. Google forms were used to collect the responses via email. Simple descriptive statistics were used to analyze the collected data using MedCalc version 14. Results Among the 120 individuals contacted, 96 responded, a response rate of 80%. Majority of the participants were not aware about the large scale use of EC in Malaysia and also of therapeutic status of EC for nicotine replacement according to the US FDA. Majority of the participants responded that nicotine in EC causes various diseases and also believed that EC can be a gateway to the use of other tobacco products. Almost 97% of the respondents expressed the need for workshops to update them on emerging tobacco trends like EC. Conclusions Many of our respondents were either unaware of the details regarding EC or, had erroneous information. An uninformed health-care provider may hesitate to discuss tobacco cessation with their patients or even convey inaccurate information. Our health care professionals must be well informed about EC