Ireland: Increase in smoking and vaping among teenagers

According to a study published in ERJ Open Research[1]For the first time in 25 years, rates of tobacco use among Irish teenagers are on the rise. The study also shows that vaping rates have increased over the past four years. These findings run counter to the country's goal of a tobacco- and nicotine-free generation by 2025.

The researchers studied Irish adolescents' drug use data from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). This survey is conducted every four years in 35 European countries among approximately 100,000 young people aged 15 to 16. Of the total sample, there were 1,493 Irish adolescents in the 2015 survey and 1,949 in the 2019 survey.

Profiles of adolescent smokers

Students from two-parent and stepfamilies were less likely to be regular smokers than those from single-parent families. Absenteeism was significantly associated with current smoking, with students who reported missing 5 or more school days in the month being more likely to be smokers. The risk was more pronounced for boys (61 %) than for girls (46 %).

Students who reported that most/all of their friends smoked were more likely to be smokers than those who had no smoking friends, and this was more pronounced for girls (33 %) than for boys (8 %).

Ireland's 2025 tobacco-free target called into question

The results of the 2019 survey showed that 16.2% of boys regularly smoked manufactured cigarettes, compared to 13.1% in 2015. This rate remained unchanged for girls between 2015 and 2019 and stood at 12.8%. Smoking prevalence has been steadily declining since 1995, when there were 41.1% of regular tobacco users among adolescents.

Regarding vaping product use, in 2015, 23% of adolescents (girls and boys) reported ever using e-cigarettes. This figure increased to 37% in 2019. In 2019, 18.1% of adolescents reported being regular users of vaping products compared to 10.1% in 2015. Ireland was the only country to include questions on e-cigarettes in the 2015 ESPAD survey, providing a unique opportunity to monitor the trend in e-cigarette use and its effect on adolescent smoking rates.

The study found that adolescents who admitted to using e-cigarettes were also more likely to be smokers and therefore to engage in dual use (vaping and smoking).

In Ireland, the government has set a goal of making the country "tobacco-free" by 2025, meaning that smoking rates should be below 5% in the general population. Previous research suggested that this goal would be difficult to achieve for the general population, but so far, the target has remained achievable for adolescents. These results are likely to call into question the achievement of this goal.

Additional measures needed to stem youth prevalence

In Ireland, successive policy and legislative initiatives have led to a decline in the accessibility and attractiveness of tobacco and nicotine products among adolescents. Ireland was the first country in the world to strictly ban smoking in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars (pubs), in 2004. It was also one of the first countries to adopt plain packaging. Successive increases in tobacco tax have also contributed to this reduction in prevalence. The significant increase in smoking among adolescent boys in Ireland in 2019 suggests that further regulatory restrictions are needed, for example, by increasing the age of purchase of tobacco and nicotine products to 21 and also by establishing more public spaces where smoking and vaping are prohibited.

The results support the need to extend current tobacco control measures aimed at minors to e-cigarettes to limit the so-called "renormalization" of smoking.[2]-[3].

Keywords: Ireland, Tobacco Free Generation, 2025, tobacco, vaping, teenagers

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] Sunday S, Hanafin J, Clancy L. Increased smoking and e-cigarette use among Irish adolescents: A new threat to Tobacco Free Ireland 2025. ERJ Open Res 2021; in press (https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00438-2021) [2] Amalia B, Liu X, Lugo A, Fu M, Odone A, Van Den Brandt PA, et al. Exposure to Secondhand Aerosol of Electronic Cigarettes in Indoor Settings in 12 European Countries: Data from the Tackshs Survey. Tobacco Control. 2020; [3] Liu J, Zhao S, Chen X, Falk E, Albarracín D. The influence of peer behavior as a function of social and cultural closeness: A meta-analysis of normative influence on adolescent smoking initiation and continuation. Psychological Bulletin. 2017 Oct;143(10):1082–115. National Committee Against Smoking |