Analysis of Comments in a Petition Defending Electronic Cigarettes
Menée à partir de l'analyse de 8 285 commentaires d'une pétition contre l'interdiction des cigarettes électroniques par la Food and Drug Adminstration en 2009, cette étude identifie les arguments plaidant pour leur autorisation
Introduction : A 2009 petition opposing a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) garnered international attention from e-cig users (vapers). Petitioners’ comments described the perceived benefits of vaping. Methods : We conducted a qualitative and quantitative analysis of petitioners’ comments. A sample of 200 petitioner names was sought in public records. Reviewers identified 13 major themes in a sample of comments, and themes related to current controversies were added. For each theme, software pattern-matching instructions (regular expressions) were developed and were used to scan comments. Agreement between reviewers and software was calculated; theme prevalence and clustering was ascertained. Results : A total of 13,414 signatures and 8,285 comments from 50 states and 75 nations were collected in 6 months. Temporal patterns and name matches in public records suggest that most petitioners are authentic. Agreement between reviewers and software was moderate to high (
κ = 0.4
–0.8). Commonly cited themes were “e-cigs helped me quit” (34%), “a ban would be counterproductive” (15%), and “my health improved with e-cigs” (13%). Two clusters of themes emerged. The first combined comments about smoking cessation, health benefits, and smoking relapse that an e-cig ban would cause. The second combined themes that a “ban would be counterproductive,” it would infringe on personal liberties, and it was motivated by government or industrial greed. People who cited mental health issues often mentioned avoiding withdrawal as a benefit of e-cigs. Conclusions : Early e-cig adopters were frustrated and confused by discussion of a ban. They believed that e-cigs safely delivered nicotine and helped them quit smoking.