One in four Bulgarian students uses tobacco products

A total of 26.6% of students aged 13 to 15 in Bulgaria use tobacco products, including heated tobacco, according to data presented at a Round Table on urgent measures against the nicotine crisis in Bulgaria.

“The survey shows that the percentage of girls is higher than that of boys. 33% of girls use some form of tobacco - cigarettes, hookah, smokeless - while the share among boys in this age group is 20.4%,” said Kristina Mauer-Stender, head of the World Health Organization office in Bulgaria.

The research further shows that 23.6% of students currently smoke tobacco. 19.8% smoke cigarettes, 20.5% use heated tobacco products, and 2.9% use smokeless tobacco. In addition, 23.3% of adolescents use electronic cigarettes.

Almost six out of ten tobacco-using students have attempted to quit the habit within the last 12 months, and more than four out of ten say they want to stop smoking, BTA reported.

Edited by Diana Tsankova
English: R. Petkova