E-cigarette outcome expectancies: a survey of over 5,000 students in healthcare disciplines in Saudi Arabian universities

This study aimed to explore e-cigarette outcome expectancies and identify the associated sociodemographic characteristics among healthcare students. A cross-sectional questionnaire was distributed between December 2022 and June 2023 to all students within healthcare disciplines in Saudi Arabian universities. Data are presented as frequencies and percentages. The associated sociodemographic factors were subjected to logistic regression. 5,012 students (77.3% male) completed the survey. Age was negatively associated with beliefs about e-cigarettes for negative affect reduction (β = −0.11, 95% CI −0.16 to −0.06; p < 0.001) and positively associated with weight control (β = 0.03, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.07; p < 0.05). Male students were less likely than females to endorse weight control beliefs (β = −0.82, 95% CI −1.09 to −0.56; p < 0.001). Compared to medical students, nutrition students had stronger beliefs regarding weight control (β = 3.77, 95% CI 3.33 to 4.20; p < 0.001) and negative physical feelings (β = 2.10, 95% CI 1.78 to 2.42; p < 0.001), while internship students showed lower beliefs in social facilitation (β = −1.84, 95% CI −2.82 to −0.86; p < 0.05) and weight control (β = −1.69, 95% CI −2.24 to −0.97; p < 0.001) compared to first-year students. Approximately one-third reported using e-cigarettes, with several sociodemographic factors associated with positive outcome expectancies.