WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY (MAY 31)
Smoking prevalence among children aged 15-17 in Kyiv
during the military aggression
The aggression against Ukraine, stress and instability caused by the war have serious consequences for children’s behavior, including the risk of tobacco use.
During 2024-2025, the researchers of the Laboratory of the Safety of Children’s Population Vital Functions are studying the prevalence of tobacco use by adolescents aged 15-17 in Kyiv by means of a questionnaire.
It was found that a significant number of adolescent children (43.0%) had ever tried smoking. At the same time, boys who have tried smoking outnumber girls by 20.8%. The early age of the first smoking experience is noteworthy, especially for 17-year-old adolescents: 7.5% of boys say they tried smoking before the age of 11, and 31.3% at the age of 12-13, respectively.
The percentage of adolescents who smoke regularly, depending on their age, ranges from 27.5% to 32.1%. The percentage of boys with previous “smoking experience” is 17.3% to 23.6%.
According to our data, the proportion of children of all age groups who smoke “alternative” tobacco was 85.1% (boys – 75.2%, girls – 94.9%), which is 5.7 times higher than the proportion of daily smokers of regular cigarettes by 15.0% (24.8% of boys and 5.1% of girls).
Thus, in Kyiv, during the military aggression, there is an increase in the prevalence of smoking electronic devices than traditional tobacco products (cigarettes). Among the “alternative” types of tobacco, systems for heating tobacco (42.1%), electronic cigarettes and vapes (31.1%) are popular, smokeless tobacco is used only by boys (0.9%); hookah is smoked by 9.4% – 12.7% of adolescents.
Military aggression against Ukraine influenced the decision of 16.2% of respondents to start smoking, and the highest proportion was observed among 17-year-olds (18.8% of boys and 23.1% of girls).
It has been established that during military aggression, the use of “alternative” types of tobacco and the prevalence of smoking among adolescents becomes a new challenge for public health and requires the implementation of preventive measures.
Specialists of the Laboratory of the Safety of Children’s Population Vital Functions at the State Institution «Marzieiev Institute for Public Health of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine» continue to study the prevalence of bad habits, including smoking, in the context of the war in Ukraine.
We invite you to take part in an anonymous survey on tobacco use for children from the age of 14 and adults:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1wqDcBb5waKwKOcAe_oqLr7mszInfpoLISMTe6q5S8So/edit
Head of the Laboratory of the Safety of Children’s Population Vital Functions,
Doctor of Medical Sciences, Alina PLATONOVA
(date of publication on the website 29.05.2025)