Table 1

Awareness, perception of harmfulness, reported use and potential number of electronic cigarette users among smokers within European Union member countries, Euro-barometer 385 (77.1) in 2012

Region/countryAwarenessPerception of harmfulnessUseUsers
Heard of e-cigarettes % (95% CI)Heard of e-cigarettes and know what they are % (95% CI)e-cigarettes are harmful % (95% CI)e-cigarettes are harmless % (95% CI)Do not know % (95% CI)Ever used e-cigarettes % (95% CI)Ever used e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid* % (95% CI)Have used or experimented with e-cigarettes n
Overalln/a†n/a†28.5 (26.9 to 30.1)40.6 (38.8 to 42.3)30.9 (29.3 to 32.6)20.3 (18.9 to 21.8)3.7 (3.1 to 4.3)23 125 617
France (n=1059)86.5 (82.3 to 90.7)66.8 (61.1 to 72.6)25.8 (20.5 to 31.1)36.3 (30.4 to 42.2)37.9 (32.0 to 43.8)22.6 (17.4 to 27.7)3.9 (2.0 to 5.8)3 030 872
Belgium (n=1051)69.3 (63.7 to 74.9)45.3 (39.3 to 51.4)36.5 (30.7 to 42.4)45.4 (39.3 to 51.5)18.0 (13.5 to 22.6)11.5 (7.4 to 15.5)3.2 (1.2 to 5.2)275 748
Austria (n=1031)84.9 (80.9 to 88.8)53.3 (47.7 to 58.9)25.8 (21.0 to 30.6)44.2 (38.7 to 49.8)30.0 (24.8 to 35.2)13.7 (9.9 to 17.6)4.2 (2.0 to 6.4)315 404
Germany (n=1552)93.5 (90.9 to 96.1)81.0 (76.8 to 85.3)47.5 (41.9 to 53.2)23.6 (18.7 to 28.5)28.9 (23.6 to 34.1)20.2 (15.6 to 24.9)2.8 (1.3 to 4.2)3 437 044
The Netherlands (n=1014)93.9 (90.6 to 97.2)72.6 (66.6 to 78.7)43.4 (36.6 to 50.3)34.5 (27.8 to 41.2)22.1 (16.5 to 27.6)21.9 (16.0 to 27.9)2.5 (1.1 to 4.0)688 703
Luxembourg (n=501)92.4 (88.2 to 96.7)77.1 (69.9 to 84.3)40.8 (32.0 to 49.6)29.2 (21.0 to 37.4)30.0 (21.8 to 38.2)28.0 (19.7 to 36.3)3.7 (0.8 to 6.7)‡30 389
Greece (n=999)97.8 (96.4 to 99.3)84.4 (80.8 to 88.0)46.7 (41.8 to 51.6)37.6 (32.8 to 42.4)15.7 (12.1 to 19.3)22.4 (18.3 to 26.6)8.8 (5.6 to 12.0)777 226
Italy (n=1036)86.0 (81.6 to 90.4)64.8 (58.8 to 70.9)17.3 (12.5 to 22.1)53.0 (46.7 to 59.3)29.7 (24.0 to 35.5)8.8 (5.1 to 12.4)2.9 (0.7 to 5.0)1 092 236
Malta (n=500)79.6 (71.7 to 87.4)62.9 (53.1 to 72.8)22.2 (14.0 to 30.3)45.9 (35.6 to 56.3)31.9 (22.5 to 41.3)16.7 (9.5 to 24.0)3.6 (0.3 to 6.9)‡15 369
Portugal (n=1009)91.2 (87.4 to 94.9)73.6 (67.7 to 79.5)40.4 (33.8 to 46.9)24.7 (18.9 to 30.5)34.9 (28.5 to 41.3)17.0 (11.8 to 22.1)0.4 (0.1 to 1.2)‡309 847
Slovenia (n=1017)76.7 (71.7 to 81.8)48.2 (42.1 to 54.4)34.0 (28.2 to 39.8)30.7 (25.0 to 36.5)35.2 (29.4 to 41.1)20.3 (15.3 to 25.3)2.3 (0.6 to 4.0)97 947
Spain (n=1004)87.2 (83.5 to 90.8)70.7 (65.6 to 75.7)16.3 (12.2 to 20.4)48.9 (43.4 to 54.4)34.8 (29.5 to 40.0)10.9 (7.5 to 14.4)2.3 (0.8 to 3.8)1 395 241
Cyprus (Republic) (n=506)88.2 (83.1 to 93.3)72.4 (65.3 to 79.5)29.5 (22.2 to 36.7)40.2 (32.4 to 48.0)30.3 (23.0 to 37.6)23.6 (16.8 to 30.3)5.4 (1.7 to 9.0)46 936
Denmark (n=1019)92.1 (89.0 to 95.3)77.3 (72.4 to 82.3)29.5 (23.6 to 35.4)50.6 (44.3 to 56.9)19.9 (15.1 to 24.7)36.3 (30.1 to 42.5)5.3 (3.4 to 7.3)424 522
Slovakia (n=1000)74.4 (68.6 to 80.3)46.2 (39.4 to 53.0)26.7 (20.7 to 32.8)51.4 (44.5 to 58.2)21.9 (16.3 to 27.6)7.9 (4.3 to 11.4)1.3 (0.2 to 2.4)‡82 063
Czech Republic (n=1003)96.7 (94.6 to 98.9)82.6 (78.1 to 87.2)29.0 (23.5 to 34.5)56.8 (50.8 to 62.7)14.2 (10.1 to 18.4)34.3 (28.6 to 40.0)6.6 (3.6 to 9.5)903 055
Ireland (n=1008)66.6 (60.9 to 72.2)50.5 (44.5 to 56.6)15.8 (11.4 to 20.3)37.3 (31.5 to 43.2)46.8 (40.8 to 52.8)12.1 (8.1 to 16.1)2.7 (1.0 to 4.4)122 451
UK (n=1331)82.8 (78.2 to 87.4)69.4 (63.7 to 75.2)14.6 (10.3 to 19.0)48.6 (42.3 to 54.8)36.8 (30.8 to 42.8)26.9 (21.3 to 32.5)4.8 (2.7 to 6.8)3 716 491
Latvia (n=1024)94.3 (91.9 to 96.6)64.4 (59.5 to 69.2)43.6 (38.5 to 48.7)29.7 (25.0 to 34.4)26.6 (22.1 to 31.1)23.9 (19.5 to 28.4)1.7 (0.4 to 2.9)125 861
Lithuania (n=1021)65.8 (60.4 to 71.1)43.8 (38.1 to 49.5)24.9 (20.0 to 29.9)29.3 (24.1 to 34.6)45.8 (40.1 to 51.4)11.8 (8.0 to 15.5)0.6 (0.1 to 1.5)‡101 088
Finland (n=1003)97.7 (95.9 to 99.6)80.4 (73.9 to 86.8)42.0 (33.5 to 50.5)41.3 (32.8 to 49.8)16.7 (10.6 to 22.7)20.5 (13.2 to 27.8)3.2 (0.6 to 5.7)‡226 234
Sweden (n=1016)57.1 (47.5 to 66.7)38.0 (28.0 to 48.0)20.3 (11.8 to 28.8)34.4 (24.7 to 44.0)45.3 (35.7 to 55.0)12.4 (5.6 to 19.3)2.5 (0.9 to 4.2)122 286
Estonia (n=1000)83.9 (79.4 to 88.4)58.5 (52.2 to 64.8)32.5 (26.4 to 38.6)38.8 (32.4 to 45.1)28.7 (23.0 to 34.3)22.3 (16.8 to 27.9)2.8 (1.1 to 4.6)55 707
Hungary (n=1021)91.6 (88.6 to 94.5)74.9 (70.2 to 79.7)34.9 (29.6 to 40.2)42.0 (36.6 to 47.5)23.0 (18.5 to 27.6)22.3 (17.6 to 27.0)4.7 (2.5 to 6.9)597 970
Poland (n=1000)85.7 (81.8 to 89.6)75.3 (70.4 to 80.2)28.9 (23.6 to 34.2)41.8 (36.0 to 47.6)29.3 (24.0 to 34.6)31.0 (25.5 to 36.6)5.2 (3.0 to 7.5)3 187 636
Bulgaria (n=1006)91.5 (88.6 to 94.3)68.1 (63.1 to 73.1)20.2 (16.0 to 24.4)43.2 (37.9 to 48.4)36.6 (31.5 to 41.7)31.1 (26.1 to 36.0)4.6 (2.3 to 6.9)736 318
Romania (n=1020)93.6 (90.8 to 96.4)68.8 (63.6 to 74.0)37.2 (31.7 to 42.6)32.3 (27.0 to 37.6)30.5 (25.3 to 35.7)22.2 (17.4 to 27.0)5.1 (2.6 to 7.5)1 210 973
  • All data were weighted to yield nationally representative estimates.

  • *Among all current smokers that had made a past quit attempt or former smokers that had quit (n=10 219).

  • †Data presented in the original Eurobarometer report.

  • ‡Estimates with relative standard errors ≥40%.