Over the past four years, the number of smokers of regular cigarettes in Estonia has decreased by 12 percent and the number of e-cigarette users has increased, an annual survey of adult tobacco and nicotine users carried out by pollster Norstate indicates.
Cigarettes sold in packs, meaning regular cigarettes, continue to be the most commonly used tobacco and nicotine product in Estonia. Almost all of respondents who consume tobacco and nicotine products have at least tried them, with three in four respondents using regular cigarettes occasionally. The study shows that the second most commonly used product alongside regular cigarettes is e-cigarettes, which are occasionally used by a third of tobacco and nicotine users.
A number of changes can be seen among tobacco and nicotine users. Compared to 2021, the number of smokers of regular cigarettes has decreased by 12 percent, and a decrease of three percent was registered over the year. The number of e-cigarette users meanwhile increased by 18 percent during the four-year period and by three percent in a year. The number of users of nicotine pads and heated tobacco products has increased somewhat over the course of four years.
Margit Pulk, head of external relations at Philip Morris Estonia, noted that over the past decade, people in Estonia have been either quitting regular cigarettes altogether or replacing them with alternative tobacco and nicotine products.
“The decline in the consumption of regular cigarettes is due to a variety of factors ranging from price increases to changes in consumption habits,” she said.
Although the consumption of novel tobacco and nicotine products has increased, the study shows that people’s awareness is not sufficient. Among the demographic that uses tobacco and nicotine products, awareness of e-cigarettes is highest, yet almost half of e-cigarette users say they do not know enough about the products or know very little. Product awareness is highest among users of heated tobacco products.
The aim of the study, commissioned by Philip Morris Estonia and conducted by Norstat, was to find out the usage habits of tobacco consumers and their awareness of novel tobacco products.
Norstat surveyed adult regular consumers of tobacco or nicotine products aged 18-65 in Estonia during two weeks in February and March. The survey was conducted using the online survey method between Feb. 22 and March 7. A total of 1,000 tobacco or nicotine users responded to the survey; 51 percent of the respondents were women and 49 percent were men.
Source: BNS
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