Rise in electronic cigarette use among adolescents in Poland

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

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.

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).

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.