Sofia, May 7 (BTA) - Between 45.7 and 50.4 per cent of
Bulgaria's youth use tobacco products, the Smoke Free Life
Coalition said, quoting a survey by the BlueLink Foundation. The
 survey is part of a Smoke Free Life Coalition project supported
 by the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung
Disease. The study analyzed data collected through two
nationally representative polls conducted by Exacta Research
Group in the 18-35 age group in September and December 2020.

The results show that a vast majority of 70 per cent of young
people do not approve of tobacco use and support policies to
limit that. Many regard smoking as a considerable problem which
has to be addressed with serious measures. Nearly 58 per cent of
 the young people say there has to be stricter and more
effective enforcement of the ban on smoking in indoor public
places, and agree that the state should not allow the tobacco
industry to meddle in the drafting and application of policies
related to public health. Nearly one in two believe that
advertisement of tobacco products should be banned.

Over one-third of the young respondents said they would vote for
 a political force offering policies for limiting smoking among
youth in Bulgaria.

Despite being relatively new on the market, heated tobacco
products rank third among all used tobacco products in our
country, ahead of hookahs. Nearly one-fifth of respondents
believe that hookah and heated tobacco products are more
harmless than cigarettes.

Most frequently, young people begin smoking before they turn 18.
 Nearly one-fifth do so between 10 and 14. The share of those
who reach for cigarettes after 25 is very small. Only one-fourth
 of the respondents say that there are no people who smoke in
their presence around them, while 43.5 per cent report smokers
around them at home or at work.

Willpower has helped 85.2 per cent of the respondents give up
smoking, 3.7 per cent did so with the help of friends and the
percentage of those who used e-cigarettes./RY/BR

Willpower has helped 85.2 per cent of the interviewees give up
smoking, 3.7 per cent did so with the help of friends and even
fewer used electronic cigarettes to transition out of regular
cigarettes. /RY/BR