Adolescent health brief
Rise in Electronic Cigarette Use Among Adolescents in Poland

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.07.015Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the potential negative health effects of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), these devices are increasing in popularity worldwide, especially among youth.

Methods

We compared data from two cross-sectional studies conducted in Poland among students aged 15–19 years in 2010–2011 and 2013–2014. We tested differences between samples in the prevalence of e-cigarette use, tobacco cigarette smoking, and simultaneous use of both tobacco and e-cigarettes (“dual use”) using a multilevel linear mixed model regression.

Results

We found that the current use of e-cigarettes among adolescents in Poland was significantly higher in the 2013–2014 sample than the 2010–2011 sample (29.9% vs. 5.5%, respectively; p < .05). Dual use of tobacco and e-cigarettes was also significantly higher (21.8% vs. 3.6%, respectively; p < .05). Interestingly, the prevalence of smoking tobacco cigarettes also increased (from 23.9% in 2010–2011 to 38.0% in 2013–2014; p < .05).

Conclusions

Observed parallel increase in e-cigarette use and smoking prevalence does not support the idea that e-cigarettes are displacing tobacco cigarettes in this population.

Section snippets

Methods

We completed a cross-sectional study to investigate e-cigarette use among students aged 15–19 years in Poland between October 2013 and January 2014. The study was performed in the two regions of Poland using a three-staged stratified cluster sample as described previously [6]. To compare e-cigarette use between the two samples, we pooled the data for the same regions and participants' age ranges from a larger cross-sectional study conducted nationally in 2010–2011 and compared it with data from

Results

We found that current e-cigarette use, dual use, and tobacco cigarette smoking were significantly higher in the 2013–2014 sample than the 2010–2011 sample (p < .0001). In 2010–2011, 16.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.7–19.2) of the study sample had ever tried e-cigarettes and 5.5% (95% CI, 3.8–7.8) were current e-cigarette users. In 2013–2014, 62.1% (95% CI, 60.1–64.0) of the study sample had ever tried e-cigarettes and 29.9% (95% CI, 28.2–31.7) were current e-cigarette users. Current

Discussion

Our two cross-sectional samples of adolescents aged 15–19 years in Poland suggest that e-cigarette use is high and may be increasing among adolescents in Poland. We found higher rates of ever and current e-cigarette use in survey conducted in 2013–2014 than in 2010–2011. Interestingly, along with the higher prevalence of e-cigarette use in 2013–2014 compared with 2010–2011, the prevalence of smoking tobacco cigarettes was also higher (38.0% vs. 23.9%, respectively). Observed increase in smoking

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Craig Steger for editorial help. M.L.G. contributed to the conception of the work, data analysis, and drafting the manuscript. M.L.G., L.B., and A.S. contributed equally to design of the work and interpretation of the data. M.G. and J.N. contributed equally to the acquisition of data for the work. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Conflicts of Interest: M.L.G. reports grants from Pfizer (2011 Global Research Award for Nicotine Dependence), a manufacturer of smoking cessation drugs, outside the submitted work; L.B. reports grants from Tobacco-Free Kids, outside the submitted work; A.S. reports personal fees from eSmoking Institute, Poznan, Poland, and nonfinancial support from Chic Group LTD, a manufacturer of electronic cigarettes in Poland, outside the submitted work. The other authors have nothing to disclose.

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