Renomovaná agentura Public Health England vydala tento týden své šesté výroční hodnocení elektronických cigaret v rámci vládního plánu kontroly tabáku. Přehled shrnuje dostupné údaje v oblasti prevalence vapingu mezi různými skupinami obyvatel Anglie.
Zprávu Public Health England tvoří práce pěti autorů z Kings College London, University of Edinburgh a Cancer Research UKA. Autoři jsou přední britští výzkumní pracovníci v oblasti kontroly tabáku, kteří nemají vazby na žádné tabákové či vapingové společnosti.
Přestože míra kouření neustále klesá a je nyní na nejnižší úrovni, kouření samo zůstává nejčastější příčinou preventabilních úmrtí ve Velké Británii. PHE i britský zdravotnický systém NHS opakovaně zdůrazňují, že alternativy kouření (zejména pak elektronické cigarety) jsou podstatně méně škodlivé, mohou podle této agentury sloužit jako klíčový nástroj při snižování zátěže na zdraví občanů Velké Británie.
Klíčové závěry:
- Current vaping prevalence among young people in England has remained reasonably steady with the best recent estimates putting it at 6% of 11 to 15-year-olds in 2018 and 5% of 11 to 18-year-olds in 2019.
- Older children are more likely to vape. Current use among 11-year-olds was estimated at less than 1% in 2018, compared with 11% of 15-year-olds.
- Current vaping is mainly concentrated in young people who have experience of smoking. Less than 1% of young people who have never smoked are current vapers.
- No surveys reported much increase in vaping prevalence.
- Current smoking prevalence (weekly or less than weekly) among 11 to 15-year-olds halved between 2009 (11%) and 2018 (5%,) but has remained relatively steady since 2014.
- Young people’s perceptions of the relative harms of vaping compared with smoking are increasingly out of line with the evidence. The proportion of 11 to 18-year-olds who thought that vaping was less harmful than cigarettes declined from 68% in 2014 to 52% in 2019.
- Just over a third of 11 to 15-year-olds thought it was OK to try vaping and just under a quarter thought it was OK to vape once a week.
- Most young people who have tried vaping, do so from curiosity.
- Tank models, which are reusable and rechargeable kits that users can refill with liquid, remain the most popular vaping device type used by young people.
- Recent UK surveys have not asked about the use of flavours among young people who vape.
- Almost 60% of 11 to 15-year-olds who vaped regularly (more than once a week) reported being given vaping products, mostly by friends. But many also reported buying vaping products from other people, shops and the internet.
- Comparisons across countries are hampered by inconsistent questions and survey methods. One survey that compared vaping among 16 to 19-year-olds from 2017 to 2018, using consistent methods, found lower levels of vaping in England compared to Canada and the US.
