Alexandra Berlo ENC 1102 Ignite Presentation

1. Why Do Teenagers Use Electronic Cigarettes?A Study to Understand the Beliefs and Behaviours Associated With Electronic Cigarettes. • Alexandra Berlo • ENC 1102 Ignite Presentation

2. Why I picked this topic • In 2010 158,248 people in the United States died from lung cancer, including 87,698 men and 70,550 women.

3. tobacco Smoking • Percent of adults 18 years of age and over who currently smoke cigarettes: 18.1%

4. Introduction • Tobacco use still remains to be a major health topic in the United States. Even with major government anti-smoking campaigns, smoking is still a billion dollar industry (Peters 175).

5. Statement of the Problem • Electronic cigarettes are a relatively new product that is becoming an overwhelming trend across America. Young American teens believe that smoking electronic cigarettes is a safe and cool alternative to smoking tobacco cigarettes (Peters). However, there is not enough research on the belief systems of freshman in high school to understand why this has become so popular. This could lead to more students trying electronic cigarettes and that may cause unknown long term health effects. Therefore if we study the addictive behaviors of teenage electronic cigarette users, we can inform the youth of the dangers of smoking electronic cigarettes.

6. What is an Electronic Cigarette

7. Health Dangers • “The FDA found nicotine concentrations inconsistent with labeling, and traces of hazardous chemicals” (Zang).

8. MEMES

9. Memes

10. Purpose of the Study • The intent of the proposed study is to assess the associations between these beliefs and experimentation with e-cigarettes among freshman in high school. • This study is important to our current generation and generations to come.

11. Research Question and Hypothesis • For the purpose of this study multiple questions were addressed: • 1. Are teenagers more likely to use electronic cigarettes due to their popularity? • 2. Are teenagers informed of the lack of research and possible negative health effects? • 3. Are students using this as a cessation tool or a using it for fun? • For the purpose of this study multiple hypotheses were addressed: • 1. Teenagers associate electronic cigarette with popularity and because of the social acceptance, they feel the need to use the product. • 2. Most students do not know that there are health risks associated with this product and have no fears when trying electronic cigarettes. • 3. Most students have never smoked before and therefore aren’t using it for its designed purpose.

12. Literature ReviewPeters • He wanted to understand the beliefs regarding electronic cigarette use among a sample of teenage boys. • The results of Peters’ study show that the youth of America is not using it for its intended use. Only 19% of the students used electronic cigarettes because they were healthier than tobacco products (Peters et al. 304). The rest of the students used them because they are easier to hide and approved by their peers.

13. Literature ReviewSutfin • She set out to discover the “prevalence of e-cigarette use and identify correlates of use among a large, multi-institution, random sample of college students” • About half of the students “did not know” how harmful they were compared to electronic cigarettes. The other half agreed that they were safer (Sutfin et al. 218).

14. Literature ReviewChoi and Forester • They state their purpose is, “To identify the beliefs predicting subsequent use of e-cigarettes” (Choi and Forester 175). They discuss how electronic cigarette studies have shown that they aren’t used with the intention of quitting. • Choi and Forester found that 7.4% of their sample had used electronic cigarettes. They also found that 2.9% were users that have never smoked traditional cigarettes before.

15. Methodology • I am going to use a survey to help answer my question. In this section I will show my methodology in depth, how I will find sample participants, what incentives are given and how I will treat my sample participants.

16. Research Design

17. Sampling • According to the 2012 US consensus there are about 9 million 16-18 year olds. A sample size of about 2,500 students would be a sample that can represent the population.

18. Survey • Circle One • Gender: Male or Female • Age: 14, 15, 16, 17 • Race: Caucasian, African American, American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, Other • 1) Do you agree that e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking? Yes or No • 2) Do you agree that e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes? Yes or No • 3)Do you agree that e-cigarettes are less addictive than cigarettes? Yes or No • 4) Are electronic cigarettes popular among your friends? Yes or No • 5) Have you smoked an electronic cigarette before? Yes or No • 6) If yes to question 5.. Did you smoke regular cigarettes before using an electronic cigarette? Yes or No

19. Protection of Human Rights • Each student has to first submit a parent consent for because they are under age. On this consent form it declares that all answers are anonymous and no names will be taken to secure that safety. Also students are not required to take this if they choose not to. Their answers will have no disciplinary consequences from the school and will only be used for data and analysis. No harm will be done to the participants, because it is only a yes or no survey.

20. Discussion • Don’t smoke!