Perception of Harmfulness of Various Tobacco Products and E-Cigarettes in Poland: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey

Mateusz Jankowski, Iwona Wrześniewska-Wal, Aurelia Ostrowska, Aleksandra Lusawa, Waldemar Wierzba and Jarosław Pinkas
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Mateusz Jankowski: School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-826 Warsaw, Poland
Iwona Wrześniewska-Wal: School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-826 Warsaw, Poland
Aurelia Ostrowska: School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-826 Warsaw, Poland
Aleksandra Lusawa: School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-826 Warsaw, Poland
Waldemar Wierzba: UHE Satellite Campus in Warsaw, University of Humanities and Economics in Łódź, 01-513 Warsaw, Poland
Jarosław Pinkas: School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-826 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-11

Abstract: Perceptions of the harmfulness of tobacco products may be a determinant of smoking behaviors. This study aimed to: (1) assess the perception of harmfulness of various tobacco products and e-cigarettes in Poland as well as (2) to assess the awareness of the health effects of using tobacco and e-cigarettes. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2019 with a nationally representative sample of 1011 individuals aged 15 and over. In the studied group, 22.3% were smokers. Smokeless tobacco was most likely to be perceived as less harmful than cigarettes (25%), followed by water pipe (24.5%), heated tobacco products (22%), e-cigarettes (21.6%), slim cigarettes (17.1%), flavored cigarettes (except menthol ones) (16.1%), menthol cigarettes (15.6%) and cigarillos (12.6%). In this study, 10% of respondents denied that smoking causes serious diseases. Most of the respondents (88.9%) were aware that smoking causes lung cancer (88.9%), but only 70.4% were aware that smoking causes stroke. Smokers compared to non-smokers were less likely to declare that smoking causes a stroke (OR: 0.43, 95%CI: 0.31–0.59; p < 0.001) or myocardial infarction (OR: 0.41, 95%CI: 0.29–0.60; p < 0.001). There were no significant differences ( p > 0.05) in the perception of harmfulness of various tobacco products and e-cigarettes by gender, age, or occupational status.

Keywords: tobacco; harm perception; tobacco control; public health; smoking; Poland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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