Current trends in tobacco smoking among 15-year-old adolescents in Poland in the background of 30 countries.

The international HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children) survey has enabled the comparison of the patterns of changes with respect to a number of health indicators in adolescence. The aim of the study was to show international trends and how the position of Poland in international rankings of smoking prevalence has changed since 2002.

Material and methods: The study comprised 30 countries for which data was available from four rounds of HBSC survey (2002-2014). In total, 218 759 15-year-olds were surveyed, including 7289 in Poland. For each country a linear trend was estimated, separately for boys and girls, to describe changes in regular smoking (daily or at least once a week).

Results: In the investigated period, the percentage of 15-year-old boys who smoke every week fell in Poland from 26.2% to 15.5%, and the respective percentage in girls decreased from 17.2% to 14.7%. This means annual decrease of 0.88% in boys and 0.24% in girls. In a combined international sample, exactly the same as in Poland rate of change was noted in boys; however, a definitely faster in girls (0.95% a year). The highest rate of change was observed in Ukraine, Germany and Norway, while the lowest in Greece, Croatia and Israel. Poland’s position in the international ranking moved from 8th to 24th, providing that the countries are listed according to the growing percentage of 15-year-olds of both genders who smoke regularly.

Conclusions: Decrease in the prevalence of smoking among Polish adolescents, observed from the beginning of this century, has been undoubtedly a success related to the implemented preventive measures. However, attention should be drawn to the strategies launched in countries which achieved better results than Poland, as well as to the reasons of less positive trends among Polish girls.