If in 2015 every ninth girl said she was a regular smoker, now every seventh girl has smoked at least 20 cigarettes in one month. For boys aged 13 - 15, one in 12 boys is a regular cigarette smoker.

The worrying data on the use of tobacco products, cigarettes, e-cigarettes and nicotine packs among 13-15 year old schoolchildren in Bulgaria for the year 2023 was presented today by the National Centre for Public Health and Analysis (NCPHA), a BGNES reporter reported.

There has been a two-fold increase in cigarette use for both boys and girls. Another worrying trend for girls is that there is a three-fold increase in e-cigarette use.

Vaping and smoking cigarettes are twice as common in girls as in boys, alerted Mirela Stranjeva.

One in eight boys and almost one in ten girls use nicotine sachets/snus.

Two out of every three children in Bulgaria have been exposed to tobacco smoke in indoor public places.

Anina Chileva summarized that girls use e-cigarettes and vapes more than boys their age. She regretted that the percentage of teenagers and young people who have a negative mindset towards tobacco use is low and even decreasing. | BGNES