The Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Education and Psychology, Institute of Psychology, and Semmelweis University together researched the consumption of heated tobacco products. The study aimed to provide an academic-level, valid assessment of the use of heated tobacco products and the perceptions, motivations, and experiences associated with their use.
Only those who had tried or used heated tobacco products, aged 18 and over, were eligible to complete the questionnaire anonymously. The researchers kept all the collected information strictly confidential. No personally identifiable or digital data of participants were recorded.
The study results highlight that Hungarian HDT users were also convinced by the tobacco industry’s well-structured and targeted marketing strategies emphasizing “harm reduction,” even though the harm-reducing effect of HDTs is currently not supported by scientific and independent results. In an environment with little commitment to proven effective cessation support methods for smokers and with unbalanced information about the risks of nicotine products, it is not surprising that health-conscious smokers switch from cigarettes to HDT use, which is considered less harmful, as a result of the harm reduction messages regularly broadcast by the tobacco industry.
The research group’s most important message is that it is urgently necessary to inform the public about the relative harms of various tobacco and nicotine products so that everyone has access to real, authentic information free of economic goals and can make a decision on this issue that significantly affects their health.
Read here the complete study presenting the research results: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235285322200027X?via%3Dihub