Does Quit Smoking Desire Influence E-Cigarette Smoking Behaviour? Malaysian Perspectives

Recent years have witnessed an emerging trend of e-cigarette smoking in Southeast Asia. On the basis of Malaysian perspectives, this cross-sectional study explored the relationship between e-cigarette smoking behaviour and variables such as perceived health benefit, the desire to quit, social acceptance, social impact and product usefulness. Individuals aged 17 years old and older were recruited via purposive convenience sampling, yielding a total sample of 503 respondents. Collected data were analysed via partial least squares-structural equational modelling. The results showed that perceived heath benefit (β = 0.19, P < 0.01), social acceptance (β = 0.23, P < 0.01) and social impact (β = 0.49, P < 0.01) positively influence e-cigarette smoking behaviour. No such effect is exerted by the desire to quit smoking (β = 0.08, P < 0.05) and product usefulness t (β = -0. 10, P < 0.05). Future studies should examine whether demographic variables affect e-cigarette smoking behaviour.