Cypriot students rank first in Europe for e-cigarette and hookah use, with 4.3 per cent reporting daily consumption – well above the European average of 3.1 per cent.

According to the latest results from the pan-European ESPAD study, released by the Cyprus Addiction Treatment Authority (NAAC) on Friday, 14 per cent of students aged 15-16 reported smoking conventional cigarettes in the past month.

While these figures are the most recent available, they date back to 2019 and indicate a downward trend – falling from 18 per cent in 2015 and 23 per cent in 2011.

The age at which students start smoking remains stable at around 18, according to a separate survey conducted every four years among people aged 15 to 64. Meanwhile, four in ten smokers reported using e-cigarettes in the last month, and 57 per cent had tried them –up sharply from 21 per cent in 2019.

Paradoxically, 40 per cent of e-cigarette users switched to vaping in an effort to quit smoking regular cigarettes, with most in the 25 to 44 age group.

NAAC warns that the perception of e-cigarettes as less harmful is misleading and suggests this belief is one of the key drivers behind their increased use among young people.

Despite global efforts to curb tobacco use, around 1.3 billion people continue to smoke, 80 per cent of whom live in low- or middle-income countries.

Cigarette prices in Cyprus remain relatively low compared to other EU countries. A pack costs an average of €4.36, while in Ireland, it averages €8.60, according to 2022 data.

In Cyprus, cigarette taxes include a 34 per cent ad valorem tax and a fixed charge of €1.10 per pack of 20 – far lower than in Finland, where taxes account for over 70 per cent of the price. Tobacco use in Cyprus stood at 34 per cent of the population in 2022, with 46 per cent of men and 22.1 per cent of women smoking.

Despite Cyprus’ lower cigarette prices compared to Ireland or France, the smuggling of tobacco products from the north, where they are even cheaper, remains an ongoing problem.