Dual use of electronic and tobacco cigarettes among adolescents: a cross-sectional study in Poland

Introduction:
This text is a summary of a cross-sectional study examining the dual use of electronic and tobacco cigarettes among adolescents in Poland. The study aims to assess the patterns of dual use and identify risk factors for dual use, as well as describe the initiation of e-cigarette use and/or progression toward dual use. The study also explores the relationship between e-cigarette use and smoking cessation.

Key Points:

* The study used a three-stage stratified clustered design to survey a sample of 2213 students in Poland.
* The study found that 21.8% of students were dual users of both electronic and tobacco cigarettes.
* Dual users were more likely to smoke tobacco cigarettes on a daily basis and less likely to smoke fewer cigarettes per day than exclusive tobacco cigarette users.
* Females and students who attended secondary school were less likely to be dual users than exclusive tobacco cigarette users.
* Most dual users initiated smoking with tobacco cigarettes and later added e-cigarettes, but a significant proportion of dual users initiated smoking with e-cigarettes.
* The study found that e-cigarettes might facilitate smoking cessation among adult smokers, but most students reported that they used e-cigarettes out of curiosity and not to quit smoking.
* Flavored e-cigarettes are very popular among young users, with fruit flavors being particularly popular.

Main Message:
The study highlights the urgent need for comprehensive tobacco control policy with regard to e-cigarettes. Regulations are needed to protect children and adolescents against uptake of both tobacco and electronic cigarettes, while limiting access to e-cigarettes by minors without restricting the access to less-harmful products by current smokers. The study also underscores the importance of further research on the relationship between e-cigarette use and smoking cessation, as well as the potential appeal of flavored e-cigarettes to nonsmoking children and adolescents.

Goniewicz, Maciej L., Noel J. Leigh, Michal Gawron, Justyna Nadolska, Lukasz Balwicki, Connor McGuire, and Andrzej Sobczak. “Dual Use of Electronic and Tobacco Cigarettes among Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland.” International Journal of Public Health 61, no. 2 (March 2016): 189–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-015-0756-x.