Consumption and perceptions of tobacco and vaping products in the EU

Since 2003, the European Commission has been conducting regular surveys to assess the behaviour and perceptions of Europeans on issues related to tobacco and nicotine. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of tobacco and nicotine consumption and exposure to advertising, in order to help identify measures to be implemented to reduce smoking in Europe.

This study was carried out by the Kantar polling institute, with a sample of 27,237 people, representative of the European population and weighted by country.

Prevalence of smoking in the European Union.

The European Union and the United Kingdom have 23% smokers among people aged 15 (-3 points compared to 2017), 22% former smokers (+2 points) and 55% people who have never smoked (+2 points).

59% of those who use e-cigarettes are also smokers, compared to 79% of heated tobacco users. 78% of conventional tobacco smokers consume manufactured cigarettes while 28% smoke rolling tobacco (a proportion of both consume both).

Number of cigarettes smoked per day

8% of smokers consume at least 21 cigarettes each day (-1 point), and 45% consume between 11 and 20 cigarettes (+1 point). For former smokers: 12% smoked 21 cigarettes or more (-3 points), while 38% consumed between 11 and 20 cigarettes per day (-1 point).

A European smoker smokes an average of 14.2 cigarettes per day. Greece and Sweden are respectively the countries where the highest and lowest number of cigarettes consumed per day and per smoker are recorded (18.7 and 9.2). In France, a smoker consumes an average of 11.8 cigarettes per day (0.4 less than in 2017).

Consumption of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products

The younger the respondents, the more likely they are to have tried e-cigarettes or heated tobacco. A quarter of young people (15-24 years) have at least tried e-cigarettes, compared to 8% of older people (> 55 years).

As the graph below shows, younger people are also the most likely to use e-cigarettes or heated tobacco.

Electronic cigarettes: consumption

48% of e-cigarette users with nicotine use it daily, compared to 10% of e-cigarette users without nicotine.

Among non-smoking e-cigarette users, 73% use it daily, compared to 43% of smokers and e-cigarette users. The most popular flavors are fruit flavors (48%), followed by tobacco flavor (36%) and menthol flavor (30%). Finally, 7% of non-users report finding e-cigarettes attractive, mainly among young people.

Use of heated tobacco products

58% of heated tobacco users are daily consumers. 6% of non-consumers find them attractive, again mainly among young people.

Onset and duration of smoking

On average, regular smoking begins at age 17.8. 54% of current and ex-smokers started before this age: 39% were between 15 and 17 years old, 15% were under 15 years old, and 38% started between 18 and 25 years old. Starting regular smoking is different from initiating smoking. In France, the first cigarette is smoked on average at age 14.4.

39% smoked for a period of 21 to 40 years, 21% more than 40 years, 20% a period of 11 to 20 years. 81% of consumers had their first experience with a classic cigarette, 6% with rolling tobacco, 4% (+1 point) with a hookah, 2% (+1 point) with an electronic cigarette, 2% (+1 point) with a cigar, 1% (+1 point) with snus, a product marketed in a very limited number of European Union.

Quitting smoking

53% of smokers have tried to quit smoking at some point (-2 points). Those who smoke traditional tobacco products and e-cigarettes together have a higher attempt rate than others (68%). Finally, 20% of respondents (including non-smokers) believe that e-cigarettes help smokers quit, including a majority of young people.

Reasons for using e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products

Among e-cigarette consumers:

• 57% did this in an attempt to reduce their tobacco consumption;
• 37% started because they believed vaping was less harmful than regular tobacco use;
• 23% due to the lower price of e-cigarettes;
• 20% reported the flavors of electronic cigarettes;
• 17% due to lower consumption restrictions in certain locations;
• 16% because of their friends;
• 8% invokes the attractive and “cool” dimension of the electronic cigarette.

When comparing these results with those from the previous 2017 survey, the most notable changes are the decrease in the proportion of users reporting that they started using e-cigarettes to quit or reduce smoking (-4 points), and the significant increases in the shares of those reporting that they liked the flavors of e-cigarettes (+8 points), thought vaping was less harmful than smoking (+6 points), and started because of their friends (+5 points).

Electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco: health perceptions

65% (+10 points) of respondents think that electronic cigarettes are harmful to health, compared to 64% for heated tobacco products.

Advertising for tobacco, heated tobacco, and advertising for electronic cigarettes

39% saw ads for e-cigarettes, liquids or refill cartridges. More than a third for smoking tobacco products, and 29% for heated tobacco products. Younger people are most likely to have seen these ads.

The chart above shows the main places of exposure to tobacco and nicotine advertising. The most notable changes compared to the 2014 survey are the increases in the proportions mentioning online social networks or blogs (+10 points), points of sale (+7 points), retail websites and mobile phone applications (both +5 points).

The results vary widely across countries, with varying regulations. 25% in Austria and 24% in Hungary report events sponsored or organised by tobacco companies, followed by 14% in the UK. This proportion drops to 1% in Denmark, and 2% in Lithuania or Malta.

More than one in ten people in Greece (17%), Estonia (14%), Bulgaria and Hungary (both 11%) report having been exposed to advertising for smoking tobacco products through the distribution of promotional items by tobacco companies. This proportion again drops to less than 1% in Malta, Lithuania and Denmark.

Attitudes toward tobacco and nicotine control policies

70% (+7 points) of respondents are in favour of banning the use of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco in places where smoking is prohibited, 47% are in favour of plain packaging for cigarettes (+1 point), 47% are in favour of banning flavourings in electronic cigarettes (-7 points).

A large majority of those who have not used or used little e-cigarettes (71%) or heated tobacco products (72%) think that these products should be regulated as strictly as manufactured cigarettes.