Analysis of electronic cigarette use among Polish dental students

Abstract

© 2017 by Wroclaw Medical University and Polish Dental Society. Background. E-smoking is a new phenomenon, not only as an opportunity to limit or quit smoking, but it may become an introduction to traditional smoking, especially by young people. Objectives. The paper reports an analysis of electronic cigarette use among Polish dental students, particularly concerning the reasons for using e-cigarettes. Material and methods. The research was conducted among 3 medical universities of Poland. The data collection took place between May 2015 and May 2016. There were 581 people (161 men and 420 women) enrolled into the study. All the examined students were 20–25 years old. They were asked to answer 6 questions. Results A total number of 420 women and 161 men completed the survey form. In the examined group, there were 100 smokers (17.21%), of which 62 were women, and 38 were men (62 and 38%, respectively). Among the smokers, 39 people (6.71% of whole examined population) were smoking traditional cigarettes, 10 students (1.72%) were smoking e-cigarettes, and 51 people (8.38%) were smoking both traditional and electronic cigarettes. Among the 39 e-cigarette smokers, there were 26 women and 13 men. The most common time frame when they had begun smoking electronic cigarettes was within less than 6 months. For 28 students (45.9%), e-smoking was associated with a trend. Next, 18 people (35.29%) believed that electronic cigarettes would help them quit smoking. The other, rarely-mentioned reasons for using e-cigarettes were: traditional cigarettes’ disturbance to the community, lower costs (than traditional cigarettes) and being allowed to use them in public places. Conclusions. The main reason for taking up electronic cigarettes was the increasing trend. E-smoking is a new phenomenon, and it may become an introduction to traditional smoking, especially by young people.