Rauchen Sie noch oder dampfen Sie schon? Vergleich des Anteils an E-Zigarettenkonsument*innen in den älteren Bevölkerungsgruppen in 26 europäischen Ländern und Israel - Daten aus dem SHARE Survey von 2019/2020 (8. Welle)

DO SENIORS’ VAPE OR SMOKE? COMPARISON OF SMOKING AND VAPING IN THE OLDER POPULATION IN 26 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND ISRAEL. DATA FROM THE SHARE SURVEY 2019/ 2020 (WAVE 8) Significance. Currently, only moderately informative data on the use of e-cigarettes and tobacco products are available for Europe’s oldest population. The present study describes the distribution of e-cigarette and tobacco product use in the elderly population in 26 European countries and Israel. Methods. Wave 8 (release 1.0.0) of the SHARE Survey on Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe served as data basis. A total of n = 46,077 persons aged 50 years and older (42.6 percent male, 57.4 percent female) were interviewed about their smoking behavior. The mean age was 71.3 years (minimum = 50 years, maximum = 104 years). For the extrapolation to the population, we used calibrated cross-sectional weights. Results. Overall, the sample’s prevalence for e-cigarette use was 0.45 percent (extrapolated to 811,000 persons aged 50 and above in the 26 European countries and Israel). The proportion of e-cigarette users was found to decline with age. Among those aged 50 to 69, 0.64 percent (extrapolated to 725,000) used e-cigarettes; among those aged 70 to 79, 0.16 percent (extrapolated to 62,000) used e-cigarettes; and among those aged 80 and older, 0.1 percent (extrapolated to 23,000) used e-cigarettes. The overall prevalence for the use of tobacco products was 43.9 percent in the sample (extrapolated to 80 million). Tobacco product use also declined as age increased. For example, among those aged 50 to 69, 49.1 percent (extrapolated to 55 million) used tobacco products; among those aged 70 to 79, 41.3 percent (extrapolated to 17 million) used tobacco products; and among those aged 80 and older, 27.7 percent (extrapolated to 8 million) used tobacco products. Conclusion. As of late 2020, e-cigarette use is far from a mass phenomenon among older persons. However, it could become significant if it were suitable for the cessation of the more widespread tobacco smoking.