Objective:

to describe knowledge of electronic cigarettes, use and their perceived harmfulness in health science students.

Methods:

a cross-sectional study was conducted to 380 medical and nursing students at the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain). A self-administered questionnaire was used, which included variables concerning sociodemographic factors and tobacco consumption. Prevalence and odd ratio were calculated. Differences between groups were analyzed for perceived harmfulness.

Results:

awareness of electronic cigarettes was 97.9%. The prevalence of ever use was 29.2%. There were statistically significant differences according to tobacco consumption (higher in current smokers) and health science degree (higher in nursing students). 15.5% of never-smoker students had ever use electronic cigarettes and 62.5% of them with nicotine charges. The main reason for trying them was curiosity (70.1%).

Conclusions:

the results second the concern of electronic cigarettes as possible gateway to nicotine products among young never-smoker population.