New research shows that primary school children have a good level of awareness of e-cigarettes
11-04-18
The report, ‘Is it all smoke without fire? Welsh primary school children’s perceptions of electronic cigarettes’ was commissioned by Public Health Wales to help understand children’s awareness and views about e-cigarettes, compared with smoking tobacco.
The report, jointly published by Public Health Wales and the Public Health Institute at Liverpool John Moores University, highlights that almost 94% of the children acknowledged the harmful effects of smoking but that children had little understanding of any health harms of electronic cigarettes. There was considerable uncertainty and many misperceptions. Some younger children for example, mistook the fruit flavours as being an indication that the e-liquids contained fruit and were therefore healthy.
Co-author Dr Alisha Davies, Head of Research & Development, Public Health Wales, said:
“This research provides a valuable insight into children’s perceptions of electronic cigarettes, family influences on their knowledge and understanding. Reinforcing the message that electronic cigarettes support people to stop smoking is important, alongside addressing gaps in children’s knowledge about potential harms."
For report: click here
For infographic: click here