E‐cigarette use and conventional cigarette smoking among European students: findings from the 2019 ESPAD survey

• Published in: Addiction
• Main Authors: Cerrai, Sonia, Benedetti, Elisa, Colasante, Emanuela, Scalese, Marco, Gorini, Giuseppe, Gallus, Silvano, Molinaro, Sabrina
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2022
• Subjects: Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/add.15982; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/add.15982; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/add.15982

Abstract Background and Aims Representative data on e‐cigarette use among European adolescents are scant. This study reports current vaping and tobacco smoking individual and country‐specific correlates among European students. Design Cross‐sectional survey: 2019 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) collecting data on risk behaviours on a representative sample of 16‐year‐old students. Setting A total of 35 European countries, 25–30 with Tobacco Control Scale (TCS) and TCS components Participants A total of 99 648 students (49.1% males) turning 16 years in the survey year. Measurements Data on current cigarette and e‐cigarette use were gathered through a self‐administered questionnaire which also collected socio‐demographics and individual and family characteristics. ESPAD data were integrated with country‐level data on TCS and selected TCS parameters to assess their association with the prevalence of current cigarette and e‐cigarette use. Findings Of the 99 648 participating students, 12.4% were current e‐cigarette users, from 5.5% in Serbia to 41.4% in Monaco; 19.3% current smokers, from 5.1% in Iceland to 32.4% in Italy. Compared with non‐users, current e‐cigarette users less frequently came from an average well‐off family [odds ratio (OR) = 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.80–0.90] and lived in countries with higher cigarette prices (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.50–0.99), restrictive measures on tobacco advertising and promotion (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.63–0.99) and intermediate implementation of tobacco control measures (OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.38–0.85). Current vapers were more frequently life ever smokers (OR = 7.31, 95% CI = 6.47–8.25), were early smokers (OR = 4.35, 95% CI = 3.66–5.17), males (OR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.55–1.67), from non‐traditional families (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.34–1.53), with relatively low parental education (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.10–1.20). Compared with non‐smokers, current smokers had similar family characteristics to vapers, and were less likely to live in ...