Rising Trend of E-Cigarette Use among Finnish Adolescents

According to Finnish media STTInfo report on May 20th, the trend of Finnish teenagers using e-cigarettes is gradually increasing. In Finland, 15% of ninth grade students admit to having used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days. This proportion is lower compared to the European average of 20%.

Research conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in schools has shown that approximately one-tenth of ninth-grade students in Finland are using drugs, e-cigarettes, snuff, getting drunk, and using cannabis. This behavior is more common among male students, but compared to 2018, the proportion among females is also increasing.

The latest international survey results show that the gap in smoking and drug use between men and women is narrowing. The smoking and e-cigarette use among female students is not significantly different compared to male students. In Finland, the proportion of male students (18%) who use e-cigarettes is temporarily higher than female students (13%), but this difference is not significant in Finland in 2022.

The World Health Organization Europe office is urging for preventive measures to protect the health of young people. The popularity of e-cigarettes among teenagers is partly due to the widespread presence of e-cigarettes in media targeting young people.

Imran, a 15-year-old interviewed by the World Health Organization's European office, said that he plays a lot of video games. "If your game character is holding an e-cigarette, you would think it's normal," he said.

The European office of the World Health Organization stressed the need to quickly implement preventive measures to protect adolescents from the harmful effects of substances. Moreover, these substances not only pose a threat to the users themselves, but also impact the surrounding environment, affecting the entire adolescent population.

The report on smoking and drug use among 15-year-old adolescents in Europe, Central Asia, and Canada, published by the World Health Organization's European office on April 25, 2024 (entitled "Adolescent drug use in Europe, Central Asia, and Canada"), is based on the results of a survey conducted as part of the HBSC (Health Behavior in School-aged Children) study from 2012 to 2022, with responses from nearly 280,000 adolescents.

In Finland, the study was led by Assistant Professor Leena Paakkari and University Lecturer Nelli Lyyra of the Department of Sport Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä. The World Health Organization Student Health Behavior Study Group was responsible for this research. The study provides internationally comparable data on children and adolescents' health awareness, health behaviors, and factors influencing them.

The results of these studies on teenage smoking and alcohol abuse can be used to prevent adolescents from using nicotine products and alcohol, while also providing support for teenage health.