LITHUANIA

TEAM INFORMATION

Principal Investigator

Kastytis Šmigelskas

Team members

Agnė Slapšinskaitė
Apolinaras Zaborskis
Goda Levinskaite
Judita Bulotaitė
Jurate Koreivaite
Justė Lukoševičiūtė
Laura Šalčiūnaitė-Nikonovė
Monika Žemaitaitytė
Tomas Vaičiūnas
Vaida Šūmakarienė
Vladas Golambiauskas

The use of e-cigarettes is becoming increasingly popular among adolescents. The study found that around a third (32%) of 15-year-olds had used e-cigarettes during their lifetime, and 20% had used them in the past 30 days. This compares with 25% of 15-year-olds having smoked a cigarette in their lifetime and 15% having smoked a cigarette in the last 30 days.

A higher proportion of e-cigarette use compared to cigarette smoking can be seen from the age of 13: 11% of 13-year-olds report having ever smoked a cigarette, compared with 16% who have ever used an e-cigarette. 5% of 13-year-olds report smoking a cigarette in the last 30 days compared to 9% who used an e-cigarette in the last 30 days. This transition to e-cigarettes as a more popular choice than conventional cigarettes calls for targeted interventions to address this emerging public health concern.

“I play a lot of video games.” said Imran, a 15-year-old boy WHO/Europe interviewed in Sweden, “If your character is holding an alcoholic drink in his hands, or a cigarette, that can impact you and makes it seem normal.”

The study highlights the urgent need for robust prevention strategies to safeguard adolescents from harmful substances. It’s crucial to recognise that the negative impact of these substances extends beyond users, affecting the broader youth community. Every child deserves a chance to thrive in an environment that is safe and nurturing, one that shields them from the risks associated with alcohol, nicotine, and tobacco usage.