Cypriot students rank first in Europe in terms of e-cigarette and hookah use: 4.3% of them report daily consumption, which is significantly higher than the European average of 3.1%.

According to the latest results of the European-wide ESPAD study, published on Friday, February 28, by the Cyprus Drug Addiction Treatment Authority (NAAC), 14 percent of students aged 15-16 reported that they had smoked regular cigarettes in the last month.

Although these figures are the most recent available, they date back to 2019 and indicate a downward trend, from 18 percent in 2015 and 23 percent in 2011.

According to a separate survey conducted every four years among people aged 15 to 64, the age at which students start smoking remains stable at about 18 years old. Meanwhile, four out of ten smokers reported using e-cigarettes in the last month, and 57 percent had tried them, up sharply from 21 percent in 2019.

The NAAC warns that the perception of e-cigarettes as less harmful is misleading, and suggests that this belief is one of the key factors in their wider use among young people.

Despite global efforts to limit tobacco use, about 1.3 billion people continue to smoke.

A source: cyprus-mail.com

https://cyprusbutterfly.com.cy/news/kiprskie-studentyi-lidiruyut-evrope-upotrebleniyu