Introduction: The aim of this study was to examine knowledge of health effects of smoking and the impact of cigarette package warnings among tobacco users from six European Union (EU) Member States (MS) immediately prior to the introduction of the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) in 2016 and...

Because electronic cigarettes are relatively new, data on usage patterns and factors which influence them are sparse. Hence, this study aims at assessing awareness, beliefs about electronic cigarettes and experimentation with them among university students from Romania- a country where the sales and marketing of these products are widespread. Secondly, correlates of electronic cigarette experimentation will also be investigated. A cross-sectional study was performed by means of anonymous questionnaires among 480 students, aged 19–24, from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, between April-May 2013. The results show that 92.5% of the students have heard about e-cigarettes; out of these, one quarter (53.3% of the smokers, 25% of the ex-smokers, 5.5% of the non-smokers) have tried electronic cigarettes at least once during lifetime. The results of the multinomial logistic regression point out that the correlates of electronic cigarette experimentation were: male gender, being a smoker of traditional cigarettes, having friends who experimented with electronic cigarettes, having stronger beliefs that electronic cigarettes could help them quit smoking and being less convinced that they are used only by smokers. The explained variance was 59%. The results underline the importance of addressing the issue of e-cigarette use through health education programs and regulatory interventions, since e-cigarettes are a reality faced by the Romanian youth.

The goal of this study was to assess the effects of a school-based smoking prevention programme that used both a video and peer-led discussion groups among Romanian junior high school students aged 13–14 years. The programme embraced the social influence approach and concentrated on enhancing self-efficacy and the acquisition of cigarette refusal skills. Twenty schools were randomly assigned to the control and experimental conditions, resulting in 55 participating classes from the seventh grade (28 in the control group and 27 in the experimental group). Pretest and 9 months follow-up data on weekly smoking initiation and psychosocial variables were collected from 1071 students. Multilevel logistic regression analyses demonstrated a significant effect of the programme on adolescents' smoking behaviour after 9 months. At post-test, weekly smoking onset was 4.5% in the experimental group versus 9.5% in the control group. Furthermore, the programme had significant effects on smoking-related beliefs. In the experimental group, this resulted in a more negative attitude towards smoking, increased social self-efficacy levels and a more negative intention towards smoking. These findings show that short-term effects of the smoking prevention programme can be realized in Romania. More studies are needed to analyse how to maintain these effects over time.

Background: The objective of this study is to assess anxiety, depression and panic disorders among patients diagnosed with COPD and to investigate their correlation with disease severity, quality of life as well as tobacco use. Methods: An observational study was performed between January...

Background: The objective of this study was to assess cross-sectional and prospective relations between alcohol and tobacco use among Romanian adolescents, giving special attention to possible gender differences. Methods: The data were obtained from a two-wave 1-year longitudinal study carried out among 403 Romanian high school students aged 15–17 years (mean age 15.9; SD = 0.3). Questionnaires were used to assess smoking behaviour and alcohol use. Both behaviours were classified into two categories, that of adolescents who used the substance (at least once/month) and that of those who did not use the substance or used it less than monthly. Logistic regression was used to determine which substance was the best predictor of the subsequent use of the other substance. Results: Alcohol and cigarette use were found to be linked reciprocally and this interrelationship differed across genders. Among girls smoking predicted alcohol use better than the converse, while for the boys it was the other way around. Conclusion: It is important for future studies of adolescent substance use to systematically investigate the gender differences in the tobacco–alcohol relationship.

The healthy nutrition guidelines proposed by international research institutes and the World Health Organization recommend a daily intake of fruit and vegetables of at least 400 g, representing five servings a day (each serving contains around 80 g). Moreover, the recommendations stress the importance of consuming both fruit and vegetables daily, preferably at least two portions of fruit and three portions of vegetables per day. To efficiently develop interventions for promoting fruit and vegetable consumption among children, it is essential to identify and understand the factors that influence these behaviours. The present study aims at identifying the individual and familial factors which influence fruit and vegetable consumption among Romanian children. A cross-sectional survey by means of anonymous questionnaires was conducted among 361 school children, aged 11-14, from Cluj-Napoca, Romania (April-May 2011). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to assess the correlates of fruit and vegetable intake. The results show that 44.6% of the children met the recommendations regarding fruit intake, while 9.1% of the children declared eating the daily recommended portions of vegetables. Knowledge regarding the recommended number of daily servings and higher self-efficacy concerning the intake of fruit and vegetables every day were positively associated with higher consumption of fruit and vegetables. Fruit preference also influenced positively the consumption of fruit. The familial factor associated with vegetable intake was the perceived behaviour of the mother, while fruit intake was higher among children who declared higher fruit availability at home. Hence, it is necessary to develop in Romania nutrition interventions addressing the determinants of fruit and vegetable intake as identified by this study; these interventions should target both children and parents.