Beliefs and intention to use e-cigarettes among university students in Dhaka city of Bangladesh: a qualitative exploration.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

E-cigarette use among Bangladeshi university students is reportedly far higher than national adult prevalence, yet the cognitive and social drivers of this behaviour remain unclear. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour, we explored the beliefs and intentions that shape vaping among students in Dhaka.

Results

Between January and February 2020 we conducted four sex-stratified focus-group discussions with 32 current vapers (mean age 22 years; 50% male; 50% private-university) drawn purposively from one public and one private university. Most participants were former combustible-cigarette smokers; three quarters had replaced cigarettes with e-cigarettes and half no longer smoked tobacco. Vaping was viewed as less harmful, cheaper, and more socially acceptable than

SUBMITTER: Nabi MH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12512674 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature