Novel tobacco and nicotine products and youth in the European Union

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a rapid proliferation of novel tobacco and nicotine products in the market, which have gained in popularity among adolescents. The prevalence of ever users of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) in Europe among those aged 10-24 ranges from 5.5% to 56.6%, with significant variations across countries. Adolescents have reported several reasons for e-cig use initiation, including low harm perception, social acceptability, novelty, and peer influence. Despite being marketed as safe alternatives, e-cigs are not risk-free and have already been associated with respiratory diseases. A major concern is their potential to renormalize smoking among non-smokers and to foster nicotine dependence, leading to the initiation of conventional cigarette smoking, which would reverse actual declining trends in tobacco consumption. Hence, to prevent a setback on the progress made in tobacco control, there is a pressing need for more comprehensive regulation, with a particular focus on adolescents, given that the teenage years are pivotal in determining future smoking behavior.