Aims: This study aimed to explore the general public's perception toward electronic cigarette use. Public support toward electronic cigarette regulation was also examined.
Settings and Design: This was a Malaysian population-based survey.
Materials and Methods: Data were obtained from the National E-Cigarette Survey (NECS) 2016, which used a multistage stratified cluster sampling household survey representing all Malaysian adults aged 18 years old. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a total of 4288 adults.
Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive and logistic regression analysis.
Results: Majority were aged 25-44 years old (44%), completed at least secondary education (69%), of Malay ethnicity (73%), and married (68%). Majority (88.1%) have never used electronic cigarette. A quarter (25.5%) perceived electronic cigarette helps people quit cigarette smoking, whereas 20.3% perceived electronic cigarette helps people to maintain cigarette abstinence. Approximately 85% believed that electronic cigarette use does not help in improving breathing and coughing. Majority (91.8%) disagreed that electronic cigarettes should be allowed in places where tobacco smoking is banned. Thus, 63.4% agreed that electronic cigarette should be banned completely rather than regulated.
Conclusion: Majority of general public had negative perception about electronic cigarette use.
METHODS: We examined e-cigarette market data from the Euromonitor Global Market Information Database (GMID) Passport database, searched in the academic literature, grey literature and news archives for any reports or studies of e-cigarette related diseases or injuries, e-cigarette marketing, and e-cigarette policy responses in Southeast Asian countries, and browsed the websites of online e-cigarette retailers catering to the region's active e-cigarette markets.
RESULTS: In 2019, e-cigarettes were sold in six Southeast Asian markets with a total market value of $595 million, projected to grow to $766 million by 2023. E-commerce is a significant and growing sales channel in the region, with most of the popular or featured brands in online shops originating from China. Southeast Asian youth are targeted with a wide variety of flavours, trendy designs and point of sale promotions, and several e-cigarette related injuries and diseases have been reported in the region. Policy responses vary considerably between countries, ranging from strict bans to no or partial regulations.
CONCLUSION: Although Southeast Asia's e-cigarette market is relatively nascent, this is likely to change if transnationals invest more heavily in the region. Populous countries with weak e-cigarette regulations, notably Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, are desirable targets for the transnationals. Regulatory action is needed to prevent e-cigarette use from becoming entrenched into these societies, especially among young people.
ANIMALS: A convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES) of wild fauna and flora registered crocodile farm, provided a healthy male saltwater crocodile, Crocodylus porosus for this study.
PROCEDURES: Three samples were taken from the oral cavity, 3 samples from the proximal region of the small intestine (jejunum), and 3 samples from the distal part of the large intestine of the gastrointestinal tract of C. porosus were obtained using sterile cotton swabs. Next, swabs were placed in 15 mL sterile centrifuge tubes, individually, and kept on ice for immediate transportation to the laboratory. This was followed by 16S rRNA gene analysis using specific primers (341F-CCTAYGGGRBGCASCAG, and 806R-GGACTACNNGGGTATCTAAT). Amplicons were sequenced on Illumina paired-end platform, and bacterial gastrointestinal communities, the relative abundance of taxa, and principal component and coordinate analysis were performed.
RESULTS: The findings revealed that bacterial community structures from differing regions exhibited several differences. The number of observed bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) was 153 in the oral cavity, 239 in the small intestine, and 119 in the large intestine of C. porosus. The small intestine reflects the highest richness. In contrast, the large intestine exhibited the least richness of microbial communities. Relative abundance of taxa showed that Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes were dominant in all 3 sample sites. Pseudomonas differed in the oral cavity and the large intestine, with the latter exhibiting less distribution of Pseudomonas. Stenotrophomonas and Castellaniella were higher in the oral cavity, while the relative abundance of Comamonas and Salmonella was higher in the small intestine. Conversely, the relative abundance of Salmonella and Pannonibacter was augmented in the large intestine.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: For the first time, this study demonstrates the bacterial diversity along the segments of the gastrointestinal tract of C. porosus. Bacterial flora varies throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Although further studies using large cohorts are warranted; however, our findings suggest that microbiome composition may have the potential as a biomarker in determining the overall health and well-being of C. porosus.