Przedstawiono wyniki badań częstości spożywania owoców i warzyw w Polsce w latach 1996-1997, przeprowadzonych na reprezentatywnej próbie dorosłej części populacji Polaków. W obu badaniach, w których udział wzięły 1134 osoby w roku 1996 oraz 1164 w roku 1997, posłużono się tym samym kwestionariuszem wywiadu, składającym się z części dotyczącej częstości spożywania owoców i warzyw oraz powodów, dla których spożycie to nie jest częstsze. Połowa respondentów codziennie je owoce, a jedna trzecia co najmniej raz dziennie spożywa surowe warzywa i soki owocowe. Codzienne spożycie soków warzywnych i owoców suszonych deklaruje od 2 do 5% ankietowanych. Owoce i warzywa spożywają częściej kobiety niż mężczyźni a mieszkańcy miast częściej niż mieszkańcy wsi. Spożycie owoców i warzyw wzrasta wraz z poziomem wykształcenia i maleje wraz z wiekiem. Głównymi przyczynami niskiego spożycia owoców i warzyw, zdaniem ankietowanych, są zbyt wysoka cena oraz brak potrzeby zwiększenia spożycia.
Tobacco smoking is a major avoidable single cause of premature mortality in Poland. Almost one in three Polish males do not live to 65 years of age, and almost half of this premature mortality can be traced back to the much higher smoking prevalence in Poland than in Western Europe – every third Polish male and every fourth Polish female smokes daily. However, the current health situation in Poland is much better than two decades ago when the country entered a period of political and economic upheaval. In the early 1990s, the state of health of the Polish population was catastrophic and its tobacco consumption levels the highest in the world. In the early 1990s, the probability of a 15-year-old Polish boy living to the age of 60 was not just twice lower than in Western Europe, but also lower than in China or India. The health policy of limiting the health consequences of smoking conducted by the European Union and, in the last two decades, by the Polish parliament and government, helped to stop this health catastrophe. In Poland, cigarette consumption has decreased by 30% since 1990, as did lung cancer mortality among males. Despite this progress, tobacco smoking remains the most serious health problem in Poland. Therefore, comprehensive tobacco control policy should not only be continued, but expanded and accelerated. The EU Tobacco Products Directive proposes a package of actions for reducing tobacco-related health harm in Europe. The Directive proposal is rational, science-and-evidence based, and grounded on the best practice examples from other countries. Both the Polish tobacco control law and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), ratified by Poland in 2006, oblige our country to support tobacco control, including all the initiatives taken by the European Union.
Gwałtowny wzrost spożycia wyrobów tytoniowych, a także niekorzystna struktura palenia tytoniu w naszym kraju sprawia, że Polska należy do państw o najwyższej dynamice umieralności na choroby wywołane paleniem tytoniu, w tym nowotwory złośliwe. Wiąże się to także z wysoką zawartością substancji szkodliwych, również rakotwórczych, w polskich papierosach. Wyniki badań chemicznych wskazują, że poziom substancji smolistych, nikotyny, niektórych wielopierścieniowych węglowodorów aromatycznych, N-nitrozoamin, tlenku węgla, cyjanowodoru, formaldehydu oraz kadmu i ołowiu w polskich papierosach jest wyższy od odpowiednich poziomów w papierosach produkowanych w wielu krajach europejskich i USA oraz znacznie przekracza dopuszczalne tam normy.
Background: Existing smoking prevalence comparisons between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ members of the European Union (EU) give a misleading picture because of differences in methodology. A major EU project designed to find ways of closing the health gap between the member states, included the first ever comparison of smoking prevalence between these countries using a methodology that minimises potential biases. Methods: A detailed analysis of methods and data from the most recent nationwide studies was conducted in the adult population of 27 countries of the European Union and Russia as an external comparator. To maximise comparability, daily smoking in the age range 20-64 was used. Prevalence of current daily smoking, former smoking and never smoking were age-standardised and calculated separately for males and females. Findings: The European map of smoking prevalence shows that male smoking prevalence is much higher in the new than the old members of the EU, whereas in females the reverse is true, but there are also very large differences in smoking rates between particular countries within the same region. Sweden clearly has the lowest prevalence, and the prevalence in the United Kingdom (UK) at the time of the surveys emerges as near the average for old-Europe but higher than, for example, Ireland. Interpretation: Restricting the analysis to daily smokers aged 20-64 produces a map of Europe in which variation in prevalence between individual countries within regions is as important as variation across regions. Survey methods need to be harmonised across countries to enable comparisons involving all ages and non-daily as well as daily smokers.
Introduction: Tobacco smoking is still one of the greatest, avoidable, singular causes of death. Although students of medical faculties are expected to have solid knowledge about smoking hazards, a significant number of them still smoke. Aim: The aim of the study was to assess knowledge on tobacco dependence in a sample of students at the Medical University in Wroclaw. Material and methods: Between 2009-2011, non-compulsory lectures on the diagnosis and treatment of tobacco dependence were provided for 3rd to 6th year students of medicine at the Medical University in Wroclaw (170 students). The questionnaire contained 10 questions about smoking-related diseases and medicines used in tobacco dependence treatment. Results: 21% of students smoked cigarettes and 79% were never smokers. 36% of the study group was exposed to passive smoking at the university. Nearly 80% of survey respondents agreed with the statement that cigarette smoking can lead to psychological addiction as strong as drug addiction, but more than 12% of the respondents perceived smoking just as a strong habit. Only 6 out of 10 surveyed students recognised tobacco dependence as an illness classified in an international classification of diseases and health problems (ICD-10). The correct amount of the chemical substances to be found in tobacco smoke was known by 67.1% of all surveyed students. The vast majority of the surveyed students indicated correctly 2 brands of nicotine replacement therapy, but none of them could name even one chemical and corresponding trade name of the pharmaceutical with central effect. Conclusions: The level of knowledge about the diagnosis and treatment of tobacco dependence among the students of the Medical Faculty in Wroclaw Medical University is low, and requires improvement through educational activities at both facultative and compulsory study level. Special attention should be paid to pharmaceutical treatment of the tobacco dependence syndrome.