E-cigarettes which emerged as substitutes for tobacco products quickly spread around the world and became a new subculture.
OBJECTIVE
To study the frequency of vaping prevalence among adolescent schoolchildren in Ternopil, as well as their awareness of its effect on the human body.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A survey of 410 students of secondary schools in Ternopil at the age of 13 to 17 was conducted in September-October 2019. The questionnaire contained 24 questions: closed, open and semi-open. Verbal consent was obtained from all students. The participation of the students was voluntary, the responses were confidential and anonymous. The results of a survey of 363 (87.1%) students who knew what vaping was and answered all the questions were analyzed.
RESULTS
Among senior pupils surveyed the 34.4% tried vaping, 6.1% of them used electronic cigarettes daily. The most frequent sources of information about vaping were friends (54.6%) and advertisements (33.3%) on social networks, departments of large supermarkets, etc. Most adolescents knew about the harmful effects of vaping on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, 80.9% of students felt its negative effects, but this had little effect on their rejection of electronic cigarettes. The majority (85.8%) of parents did not know about the use of electronic cigarettes by their children, the rest supported the choice of their children. Only 11.3% of pupils indicated discussing the problem of vaping with adults.
CONCLUSION
The results obtained confirm the need to strengthen educational about the dangers of vaping among adolescents with the involvement of family, school, medical workers, as well as the advisability of forming a healthy lifestyle in children.