Electronic cigarette use behaviors in people with HIV who smoke tobacco cigarettes

Abstract Objectives. To describe electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) usage behaviors, beliefs, and spirometry patterns in people with HIV (PWH) who smoke tobacco cigarettes. Design: Cross-sectional, observational, pilot study conducted in an HIV care center in the Bronx, New York. Methods Enrolled PWH who confirmed tobacco cigarette usage completed an audio computer-assisted self-interview and spirometry. Because a minority of PWH tobacco users have ever used e-cigarettes, we purposely oversampled current and past e-cigarette users. Results We enrolled 42 participants into the study. Of these, 19 were current e-cigarette users, 13 were past users, and 10 were never users. Current and past e-cigarette users were significantly younger than never users, and they were more likely to have ever used other tobacco products (mostly pipes and cigars). There were no significant differences in tobacco smoking frequency, daily cigarette consumption, nicotine dependence, or motivation to quit between e-cigarette users and non-users. Current and past users were less likely to demonstrate an obstructive pattern on spirometry than never users. Current e-cigarette users cited assistance in attempting to quit tobacco cigarettes as the most common reason for their use. Our sample used eight different vaping devices and most commonly used tobacco/nicotine as their vaping substrate. Conclusions PWH tobacco cigarette smokers who use e-cigarettes most commonly vape tobacco/nicotine products. Current e-cigarette users did not smoke fewer tobacco cigarettes per day than non-users. The observation that those who had never used e-cigarettes were more likely to demonstrate obstruction on spirometry was surprising and may merit further investigation.