Electronic cigarette use in Greece: an analysis of a representative population sample in Attica prefecture
Abstract Background The purpose was to assess prevalence and correlates of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use in Greece in 2017. Methods A cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 4058 adults living in Attica prefecture (35% of the Greek adult population) was performed in May 2017 th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2018-04-01
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| Series: | Harm Reduction Journal |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12954-018-0229-7 |
| _version_ | 1818586314488938496 |
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| author | Konstantinos E. Farsalinos Georgios Siakas Konstantinos Poulas Vassilis Voudris Kyriakoula Merakou Anastasia Barbouni |
| author_facet | Konstantinos E. Farsalinos Georgios Siakas Konstantinos Poulas Vassilis Voudris Kyriakoula Merakou Anastasia Barbouni |
| author_sort | Konstantinos E. Farsalinos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The purpose was to assess prevalence and correlates of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use in Greece in 2017. Methods A cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 4058 adults living in Attica prefecture (35% of the Greek adult population) was performed in May 2017 through telephone interviews. Prevalence and frequency of e-cigarette use were assessed according to the smoking status, and logistic regression analysis was performed to identify correlates of use. Results Current smoking was reported by 32.6% of participants. Ever e-cigarette use was reported by 54.1% (51.4–56.8%) of current smokers, 24.1% (21.7–26.5%) of former smokers and 6.5% (5.3–7.7%) of never smokers. Past experimentation was the most prevalent pattern of e-cigarette use among ever users (P < 0.001). Almost 80% of ever and 90% of current e-cigarette users were using nicotine. Extrapolated to the whole Attica population (3.1 million), there were 1 million current smokers, 848,000 ever e-cigarette users and 155,000 current e-cigarette users. The majority of current e-cigarette users (62.2%) were former smokers. Only 0.2% of never smokers were current e-cigarette users. One out of 20 participants considered e-cigarettes a lot less harmful than smoking. Being current or former smoker were the strongest correlates current e-cigarette use (OR 30.82, 95%CI 10. 21–69.33 and OR 69.33, 95%CI 23.12–207.90 respectively). Conclusions E-cigarette use in Greece is largely confined to current or former smokers, while current use and nicotine use by never smokers is extremely rare. The majority of current e-cigarette users were former smokers. Most participants overestimate the harmfulness of e-cigarettes relative to smoking. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T08:51:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d064772435494cfcbb5dbdaea8773fd3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1477-7517 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T08:51:00Z |
| publishDate | 2018-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Harm Reduction Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-d064772435494cfcbb5dbdaea8773fd32022-12-21T22:37:27ZengBMCHarm Reduction Journal1477-75172018-04-011511810.1186/s12954-018-0229-7Electronic cigarette use in Greece: an analysis of a representative population sample in Attica prefectureKonstantinos E. Farsalinos0Georgios Siakas1Konstantinos Poulas2Vassilis Voudris3Kyriakoula Merakou4Anastasia Barbouni5Onassis Cardiac Surgery CenterPublic Opinion Research Unit, University of MacedoniaDepartment of Pharmacy, University of PatrasOnassis Cardiac Surgery CenterNational School of Public HealthNational School of Public HealthAbstract Background The purpose was to assess prevalence and correlates of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use in Greece in 2017. Methods A cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 4058 adults living in Attica prefecture (35% of the Greek adult population) was performed in May 2017 through telephone interviews. Prevalence and frequency of e-cigarette use were assessed according to the smoking status, and logistic regression analysis was performed to identify correlates of use. Results Current smoking was reported by 32.6% of participants. Ever e-cigarette use was reported by 54.1% (51.4–56.8%) of current smokers, 24.1% (21.7–26.5%) of former smokers and 6.5% (5.3–7.7%) of never smokers. Past experimentation was the most prevalent pattern of e-cigarette use among ever users (P < 0.001). Almost 80% of ever and 90% of current e-cigarette users were using nicotine. Extrapolated to the whole Attica population (3.1 million), there were 1 million current smokers, 848,000 ever e-cigarette users and 155,000 current e-cigarette users. The majority of current e-cigarette users (62.2%) were former smokers. Only 0.2% of never smokers were current e-cigarette users. One out of 20 participants considered e-cigarettes a lot less harmful than smoking. Being current or former smoker were the strongest correlates current e-cigarette use (OR 30.82, 95%CI 10. 21–69.33 and OR 69.33, 95%CI 23.12–207.90 respectively). Conclusions E-cigarette use in Greece is largely confined to current or former smokers, while current use and nicotine use by never smokers is extremely rare. The majority of current e-cigarette users were former smokers. Most participants overestimate the harmfulness of e-cigarettes relative to smoking.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12954-018-0229-7Electronic cigarettesSmoking/harm reductionNicotineGreece |
| spellingShingle | Konstantinos E. Farsalinos Georgios Siakas Konstantinos Poulas Vassilis Voudris Kyriakoula Merakou Anastasia Barbouni Electronic cigarette use in Greece: an analysis of a representative population sample in Attica prefecture Harm Reduction Journal Electronic cigarettes Smoking/harm reduction Nicotine Greece |
| title | Electronic cigarette use in Greece: an analysis of a representative population sample in Attica prefecture |
| title_full | Electronic cigarette use in Greece: an analysis of a representative population sample in Attica prefecture |
| title_fullStr | Electronic cigarette use in Greece: an analysis of a representative population sample in Attica prefecture |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electronic cigarette use in Greece: an analysis of a representative population sample in Attica prefecture |
| title_short | Electronic cigarette use in Greece: an analysis of a representative population sample in Attica prefecture |
| title_sort | electronic cigarette use in greece an analysis of a representative population sample in attica prefecture |
| topic | Electronic cigarettes Smoking/harm reduction Nicotine Greece |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12954-018-0229-7 |
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