As the electronic cigarette debate rages on among all sorts of “experts” on the subject, very little has been done to actually find out what the public thinks about the use of these devices.
That is exactly what one marketing survey in the US sought to find out. 1000 respondents were asked a barrage of questions aimed at gauging what they thought about the use of e-cigs in public. Their answers were very telling since they showed that the public is far more discerning than what is usually thought of them.
The following are some of the views that were gathered during that survey.
Those In Favor.
Overall, 63% of those interviewed had no objection to the use of an e-liquid with electronic cigarette in public places. However, when questions were more specific as to the places referred to, the approval figures kept dropping depending on the proximity involved in the places talked about.
To illustrate this, 58% were perfectly okay with people vaping at a sports event say a baseball game but when asked about public transportation only 35% approved of e-cig use. As for using an e-cig in movie theatres, only 29% said they had no problem with a vaper puffing away. When asked about vaping on planes, only 26% of the respondents gave their approval.
The Gender Divide. It was established that far more men approved of the use of electronic cigarettes with e-liquids compared to women.
Age Factor. The study results show that individuals below 35 years of age were more positive towards electronic cigarettes as compared to those above 35 years of age.
Income Level. People with higher incomes ($ 50,000-75,000 a year) tended to be more accommodative of e-juice and e-cigarettes as compared to those who earned lower incomes (less than $ 40,000 a year).
What Should One Read From This Survey?
It seems that as more and more people get to know about e-cigs, they tend to accept them more since they are aware of the lower harm that they pose as compared to tobacco cigarettes.
This factor is illustrated by the fewer people that approved of e-cig use in more confined places like planes, an indicator that they do not yet know that e-cig vapor is 99% less harmful than tobacco second-hand smoke.
Younger people are more technologically savvy and that shows in the higher rates of e-cig approval among them. For one to know how e-cigs work they need some grasp of electronics and computers and that is very common among young people.
That study shows that there is a future for e-cigs as many people are becoming aware about them and what they offer. As more people get educated about the truth regarding these devices, rates of approval will skyrocket.
As the 63% approval rating shows, vapers are less likely to be recipients of the “evil eye” that smokers are greeted with when they flip out a pack and light up. For the young e-cig industry, that is a good start from which more can be expected.