A third of adolescents are now consumers of traditional cigarettes, e-cigs or heated tobacco and the smoker thus becomes a multi-consumer. And if the overall number of smokers in Italy decreases, the number of cigarettes smoked increases. The situation is photographed by the National Report on Tobacco Use of the Higher Institute of Health (ISS), released on the occasion of tomorrow’s World No Tobacco Day, promoted by the WHO.
In Italy, according to the Report, 20.5% of the population over the age of 15 smokes (10.5 million people, 25.1% of men and 16.3% of women) but the average number of smoked cigarettes, 12.2 cigarettes a day and a quarter of smokers exceed 20. People smoke more in the south and among 14-17 year olds who consume tobacco or nicotine, 38.7% are ‘polyconsumers’, that is, they use more of a product. Adolescents who consume tobacco or nicotine-containing products are also more likely to consume alcohol and other substances. “It is necessary to monitor all the products on the market containing tobacco and/or nicotine – explains Simona Pichini, who directs the ISS National Addiction and Doping Center -. This is because these are devices that create addiction in very young people, who do not should neither use nor buy them, and which expose young people to new substances and in quantities that cannot be controlled”. Precisely for greater control of the phenomenon, the ISS has published the new Guidelines for the treatment of addiction, and for the first time the scenarios generated by new products are also addressed. The guideline – the previous one dates back to 2008 – evaluates the effectiveness of all available treatments, from counseling to pharmacotherapy to digital interventions, for example through apps, formulating the related recommendations for operators. For the first time, the topic of how to treat addiction to new devices on the market, from electronic cigarettes to heated tobacco devices, is also addressed, with indications of some good clinical practices.
However, it is “very important to underline – says Pichini – that the evidence currently collected indicates that the new products do not represent a tool for stopping traditional cigarette consumption”. In all these products, as well as in traditional cigarettes, in fact, he says, “the addictive substance is nicotine and there are currently no studies showing that the new products are less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Furthermore, with regard to the new products , there are not enough studies to determine whether there is an addiction generated not only by nicotine, but also by the flavors they contain”. “It is important – comments the president of the ISS Silvio Brusaferro – to be able to make use of the latest scientific evidence available in order to guide the choices of citizens”.
The ‘Smettodifumare.iss.it’ platform of the ISS is active against cigarette addiction, which offers, among other things, the geolocated map of the anti-smoking centers present on the national territory. The toll free telephone against smoking is also active (800 554088).
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