E-Cigarettes Focus of Nov. 4 UT Honors Symposium

On Wednesday, Nov. 4, The University of Tampa’s honors symposia series will continue with a presentation by Mary Martinasek, assistant professor of public health, on Vaping: Will Curiosity Kill the Cat? The lecture begins at 5 p.m. in Reeves Theater in the Vaughn Center, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd., and is free and open to the public.

Martinasek will discuss her recent study of UT students’ use of electronic cigarettes. Also known as e-cigarettes, electronic cigarettes are battery-operated devices that manufacturers propose to be a replacement for traditional cigarettes. Though e-cigarettes have flavor appeal and are perceived as harmless, they contain chemicals, including nicotine. The increase in usage prompted Martinasek to study people’s perceptions of e-cigarettes, why people choose to start using e-cigarettes as well as the physiological effects of using e-cigarettes.

Her study, conducted with 766 UT students, found that curiosity was a main factor in starting to use e-cigarettes. She concludes that college students are at high risk for experimentation of novel smoking behaviors and should be finicky about what behaviors they choose to partake in.

Martinasek specializes in social marketing, mixed method research inquiry and health program evaluation. Her research interests include the use of texting for smoking cessation in college students, water pipe tobacco (hookah) smoking and the use of social media and technology for teen asthma control.

Before coming to UT, Martinasek spent more than 20 years as a respiratory therapist, treating people suffering from emphysema and other respiratory conditions caused by years of smoking. She made the move to public health to go from treating the aftereffects of smoking to try and help prevent people from smoking in the first place and lead healthy lives.

For more information, contact the Honors Program at honors@ut.edu or (813) 257-3545.