Understanding e-Cigarette Addictiveness: Triangulation of Focus Group and Netnographic Data

• Published in: Journal of medical Internet research Vol. 26; no. 11; p. e57970
• Main Authors: Andreas, Marike, Grundinger, Nadja, Wolber, Nadine, Szafran, Daria, Görig, Tatiana, Mons, Ute, Lohner, Valerie, Vollstädt-Klein, Sabine, Schneider, Sven
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canada Journal of Medical Internet Research 01-10-2024; JMIR Publications
• Subjects: Addiction; Behavior, Addictive - psychology; Causes of; Complications and side effects; Electronic cigarettes; Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems - statistics & numerical data; Focus Groups; Health aspects; Humans; Medical policy; Original Paper; Smoking cessation products; Substance abuse; Vaping - adverse effects; Vaping - psychology; United States; nicotine; addiction; e-cigarettes; smoking behavior; netnographic analysis; prevalence; smoker; smoking cessation; addictive; focus group; online forums; user; public health
• ISSN: 1438-8871; 1439-4456; 1438-8871
• DOI: 10.2196/57970

Numerous studies have shown that e-cigarettes are addictive. For example, we previously showed that users of e-cigarette online forums discuss experiences of addiction in a netnographic analysis. However, it is unclear what makes e-cigarettes addictive apart from nicotine. In a focus group analysis, we recently identified 3 unique features of e-cigarettes that users linked to experiences of addiction: the pleasant taste, unobtrusiveness, and unlimited usability of e-cigarettes.
This study aimed to validate the previously identified features of e-cigarette addictive potential by triangulating data from the netnographic analysis and focus group discussions.
Drawing on a netnographic analysis of 3 popular, German-language e-cigarette forums, we studied whether experiences of addiction were linked to specific e-cigarette features. We included 451 threads in the analysis that had been coded for addictive experiences in a previous study by our team. First, we conducted a deductive analysis with preregistered codes to determine whether the features of pleasant taste, unobtrusiveness, and unlimited usability were mentioned in relation to the addictive potential of e-cigarettes in the online forums. Second, an inductive approach was chosen to identify further possible addictive features of e-cigarettes.
Our deductive analysis confirmed that the features highlighted in our previous focus group study (pleasant taste, unobtrusiveness, and unlimited usability) were also frequently discussed in online forums in connection to addictive symptoms. In addition, our inductive analysis identified nicotine dosage as a significant feature linked to addiction. Users reported varying their nicotine doses for different reasons, leading to the identification of four distinct user types based on dosing patterns: (1) high doses for intermittent, (2) high doses for constant use, (3) low doses for constant use, and (4) switching between high and low doses depending on the situation.
Our comprehensive analysis of online forum threads revealed that users' experiences of addiction are linked to 4 specific features unique to e-cigarettes: pleasant taste, unobtrusiveness, unlimited usability, and nicotine dosage. Recognizing these addictive features of e-cigarettes is crucial for designing cessation programs and informing public health policies to reduce the addictiveness of e-cigarettes.