BACKGROUND: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has recently risen to rate across the country. A significant increase in e-cigarette use by adolescents has been observed over the last decade.
METHODS: This study used a quasi-experimental design; a two-group pretest-posttest group design. The objectives of this study were to examine the perceived severity and attitude toward E-cigarettes among Naval-rating students after receiving VDO and TikTok.
The sample of 60 Naval-rating students in 2023 was simple random sampling. The subjects were assigned to a Video group and a TikTok group equally. The subjects were matched pair before being assigned to the group. The data collection tools comprised the perceived severity questionnaire and the attitude toward the e-cigarette questionnaire. The intervention were the VDO and TikTok for smoking cessation. Data collection was performed at pre-test, the samples were received only VDO or TikTok for each group. post-test was followed. Percentage, frequency, mean, standard deviation, independent t-test, and Pair t-test were employed for data analyses.
RESULTS: 1. Perceived severity at post-test was greater than pre-test in the VDO group (x ̅= 3.50, SD .42; x ̅=4.01, SD .59, p<0.001).
2. Attitude toward E-cigarettes at post-test was greater than pre-test in the VDO group (x ̅=3.40, SD .80; x ̅=3.93, SD 1.09 (p<0.001).
3. Perceived severity at post-test was greater than pre-test in the TikTok group (x ̅=3.55, SD .43; x ̅=3.99, SD .49 (p<0.001).
4. Attitude toward E-cigarettes at post-test was greater than pre-test in the TikTok group (x ̅=3.68, SD .55; x ̅=4.20, SD .59 (p<0.001).
5. Perceived severity and Attitude toward E-cigarettes between the two groups were not significant. (p = .05).
CONCLUSIONS: Online media both VDO and TikTok affect the perceived severity and attitude of e-cigarettes among youth. Online media should be used among teenagers to prevent e-cigarettes.