TY - JOUR T1 - User pathways of e-cigarette use to support long term tobacco smoking relapse prevention: a qualitative analysis. AU - Notley,Caitlin, AU - Ward,Emma, AU - Dawkins,Lynne, AU - Holland,Richard, Y1 - 2020/09/17/ PY - 2020/06/02/received PY - 2020/06/22/revised PY - 2020/08/07/accepted PY - 2021/1/20/pubmed PY - 2021/9/30/medline PY - 2021/1/19/entrez KW - E-cigarette KW - pathways KW - qualitative KW - relapse prevention KW - smoking cessation KW - vaping SP - 596 EP - 605 JF - Addiction (Abingdon, England) JO - Addiction VL - 116 IS - 3 N2 - BACKGROUND AND AIMS: E-cigarettes are the most popular consumer choice for support with smoking cessation in the United Kingdom. However, there are concerns that long-term e-cigarette use may sustain concurrent tobacco smoking or lead to relapse to smoking in ex-smokers. We aimed to explore vaping trajectories, establishing e-cigarette users' perspectives on continued e-cigarette use in relation to smoking relapse or abstinence. DESIGN: Qualitative longitudinal study collecting detailed subjective data at baseline and ~12 months later. SETTING: United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS: E-cigarette users (n = 37) who self-reported that they had used e-cigarettes to stop smoking at baseline. MEASUREMENTS: Semi-structured qualitative interviews (face-to-face or telephone) collected self-reported patterns of e-cigarette use. Thematic analysis of transcripts and a mapping approach of individual pathways enabled exploration of self-reported experiences, motives, resources, and environmental and social influences on vaping and any concurrent tobacco smoking. FINDINGS: Three broad participant pathways were identified: 'maintainer' (e-cigarette use and not smoking), 'abstainer' (neither smoking nor using e-cigarettes), and 'relapser' (dual-using, or relapsed back to tobacco smoking only). In each pathway, individual experiences with vaping nicotine appeared to play an important role and appeared to be related to psychological and social factors. A social context supportive of vaping was important for the maintainers, as was a belief in the need to overcome nicotine addiction for the abstainers, and dislike of the 'vaping culture' expressed by some in the relapser group. Dual-users held beliefs such as a need for cigarettes at time of acute stress that affirmed dependence on tobacco. CONCLUSIONS: In a sample of UK e-cigarette users who report having used e-cigarettes to quit smoking, a social context that supports continued vaping was perceived to be helpful in preventing relapse to smoking. SN - 1360-0443 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/33463849/User_pathways_of_e_cigarette_use_to_support_long_term_tobacco_smoking_relapse_prevention:_a_qualitative_analysis_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -