Prevalence of e-cigarette use among tobacco smokers in six states and regions of Myanmar

Abstract Background Emergence of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in the past decade has the potential to undermine the global tobacco control efforts and undo the successes achieved to date. There are also concerns that e-cigarettes may become a gateway for future tobacco use and its use is increasing globally. There is no published evidence on this issue from Myanmar. Hence, we aimed to assess prevalence of e-cigarette use among tobacco smokers and its associated socio-demographic factors in six states and regions of Myanmar. Methods This was a secondary analysis of data collected as part of a programme evaluation conducted by the National Tobacco Control Programme of Myanmar in 2018, which involved sampling 100 smokers from each state/region. We used modified Poisson regression to measure associations. Results There were 629 tobacco smokers included in the programme evaluation. Among them, 246 (39.2%, 95% CI: 24.0%–56.7%) smokers reported that they had heard of e-cigarettes and 73 (11.6%, 95% CI: 5.1%–24.3%) reported having ever used e-cigarettes. There was no e-cigarette use among female smokers. The prevalence of e-cigarette use was significantly higher among males, students, young adults aged 18–29 years, heavy smokers (greater than 20 cigarettes per day) and those who lived in the Mandalay region. Conclusion Our study provides preliminary evidence about e-cigarette use in Myanmar and fills an important knowledge gap. One limitation was small sample size, which is reflected by wide confidence intervals around the estimate. We recommend a national survey to obtain precise and nationally representative information.