Determinants and prevalence of e-cigarette use throughout the European Union: a secondary analysis of 26 566 youth and adults from 27 Countries
It is noteworthy to report that, based on the above percentages, an extrapolated 3.9 million former smokers and 2.3 million never smokers in the EU reported in 2012 that they had ever used e-cigarettes.
The perception of harm among smokers also significantly varied throughout the EU, with overall 40.6% (38.8% to 42.3%) of smokers reporting e-cigarettes as not harmful, 28.5% (26.9% to 30.1%) as harmful, while 30.9% (29.3% to 32.6%) reported that they did not know if they were or were not harmful.
Multivariate logistic regression analyses performed among all respondents of the 2012 Eurobarometer 385 survey (smokers, ex-smokers, and never smokers, n=26 566), indicated that current smoking of combustible tobacco products was the strongest predictor of ever e-cigarette use (adjusted OR (aOR) 10.63, 95% CI 8.72 to 12.95) (table 2). Participants’ age was a significant determinant of e-cigarette use: younger respondents aged between 15–24 years were 3.3 (95% CI 2.50 to 4.55) times more likely to have used an e-cigarette, those aged 25–39 years were 1.89 times more likely (95% CI 1.43 to 2.50), = it is important to assess the potential harm versus benefits. In light of the new European TPD—which now includes ecigarettes and will provide the regulatory framework for their use within the EU—further research is needed to assess the long term impact of e-cigarette use on consumer health, smoking cessation, and nicotine addiction.