Adolescents’ Perceptions and Attitudes towards Traditional and Electronic Cigarettes—Results of Focus Group Interviews

Agnieszka Wojtecka, Olga Kalinowska-Beszczyńska (), Anna Tyrańska-Fobke, Dorota Kaleta, Małgorzata Wojnarowska, Marlena Robakowska and Łukasz Balwicki
Additional contact information
Agnieszka Wojtecka: Department of Public Health and Social Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-210 Gdansk, Poland
Olga Kalinowska-Beszczyńska: Department of Public Health and Social Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-210 Gdansk, Poland
Anna Tyrańska-Fobke: Department of Public Health and Social Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-210 Gdansk, Poland
Dorota Kaleta: Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Medical University of Lodz, 90-647 Łódź, Poland
Małgorzata Wojnarowska: Center for Competence Development, Integrated Care and e-Health, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-210 Gdansk, Poland
Marlena Robakowska: Department of Public Health and Social Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-210 Gdansk, Poland
Łukasz Balwicki: Department of Public Health and Social Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-210 Gdansk, Poland

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-10

Abstract: There is general agreement among scholars and policymakers that efforts to reduce smoking and prevent nicotine use should be intensified and focused on the most vulnerable part of society—adolescents. Regardless of common knowledge about the health consequences of smoking, according to data from 2020, about 51% of children in Poland had their first contact with smoking at the age of 15 and older. The objective of this research is to investigate motivations to start smoking or vaping, patterns of using tobacco products, perceptions of smoking/vaping and smokers/vapers, as well as attitudes toward nicotine addiction. The broad aim is to reflect on youth perceptions of nicotine use. A qualitative approach has been applied, utilising focus-group interviews. The sample included six focus groups, consisting of smokers and non-smokers of both genders, situated in three different cities in Poland. The interviewees were adolescents ages 16–18, attending high schools, technical schools, or vocational education. Interviews were transcribed and further analysed using the thematic analysis approach. This research enhances previously reported results by revealing new insights into the strategies applied by adolescents to mitigate financial barriers arising from high costs of nicotine products, as well as highlighting methods used to avoid the traditional antismoking messages placed on packaging.

Keywords: cigarettes; young adults; perception (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/1438/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/1438/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p:1438-:d:1034197

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().