| Summary: | In the past 10 years, a sharp increase in sale of e-cigarettes is observed on Polish tobacco market. Between 2008 and 2011, when sale of e-cigarettes reached a peak, the market expanded almost 8 times. Currently, number of e-cigarette users in Poland is estimated on around one million persons, however, over half of them are dual users (smoke both e-cigarettes and other tobacco products). Although prevalence of daily e-cigarettes use among adults seems to be still at low level (3% to 5%), the current use of e-cigarettes among Polish schoolchildren is even 5-times higher (25%). Sociological studies show that typical Polish adult e-cigarette user is middle-aged and high educated person living in good economic conditions. Main reasons for e-cigarette use include lower or reasonable price of e-cigarettes as compared with price of traditional cigarettes and belief that e-cigarettes are less harmful than other tobacco products and more effective tool for quitting smoking than existing methods of tobacco dependence treatment. Until the e-cigarette use in public places was permitted in Poland, almost half of e-cigarettes users tried to use them in public places. Amendment of the Poland Tobacco Control Law of July 2016 enforced restrictive legislative measures for e-cigarettes, including ban of such products to minors, ban on their advertising, promotion and sponsorship and ban on the use of e-cigarettes in public places. The recent market studies and sociological surveys show that above legislative measures work and sale and the use of e-cigarettes among adults is on decline in Poland.
|
|---|