Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39488907›Full record

ArticleAddiction (Abingdon, England)2025

Disposable e-cigarettes: Prevalence of use in Germany from 2016 to 2023 and associated user characteristics.

Stephanie Klosterhalfen, Wolfgang Viechtbauer, Daniel Kotz

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Stephanie KlosterhalfenInstitute of General Practice, Centre for Health and Society, Addiction Research and Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1175-898X
Wolfgang ViechtbauerDepartment of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3463-4063
Daniel KotzInstitute of General Practice, Centre for Health and Society, Addiction Research and Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9454-023X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsTo provide data on prevalence and trends in the use of different types of e-cigarettes (disposable, pod, tank) in Germany (a country with high smoking prevalence of approximately 30%) from 2016 to 2023, and to analyse the characteristics and smoking behaviours of users of these types.

designA series of nationally representative cross-sectional face-to-face household surveys.

settingGeneral population of Germany, 2016-2023.

participantsA total of 92 327 people (aged ≥14 years) of which 1398 reported current use of e-cigarettes. MEASUREMENTS: Type of e-cigarette usually used (single choice: disposable, pod, or tank), person characteristics, and smoking/vaping behaviour.

findingsE-cigarette use in the population of Germany has increased from 1.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1,2.2) in 2016 to 2.2% (95% CI = 1.6,3.0) at the end of 2023. Disposable e-cigarette use has increased in this period from 0.1% (95% CI = 0.0,0.3) to 0.8% (95% CI = 0.4,1.8). Pod type use exhibited the most stable trend, with a steady rise to 0.6% (95% CI = 0.4,0.9) in 2023. Tank e-cigarette use peaked at 1.6% (95% CI = 1.3,1.9) in November 2017, declined to 0.7% (95% CI = 0.6,0.9) in December 2020, and has since remained constant at 0.8% (95% CI = 0.6,1.0). Disposable e-cigarette users were on average 3.5 and 4.1 years younger than tank and pod users, respectively. They were more likely than tank users to be female, non-daily users, and dual users of tobacco. In the subgroup of dual users, there were no significant differences with regard to urges to smoke, cigarettes smoked per day, motivation to stop, and attempts to stop smoking between users of disposables and other types.

conclusionsThe use of e-cigarettes has increased in Germany from 2016 to 2023, especially that of disposable e-cigarettes, which are now the most commonly used type with a prevalence rate of 0.8%. However, the use of e-cigarettes is still much lower compared with tobacco smoking.

Indexed as

Disposable EquipmentElectronic Nicotine Delivery SystemsVapingAdolescentAdultAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceYoung Adultdisposablee‐cigarettesGermanypopulation surveytobacco smokerstrends

Identifiers

PMID39488907
PMCPMC11813731

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.