E-cigarette use triples; smoking down

The section of the Dutch population who smoke has remained equal to 2012 at 25 percent. E-cigarettes are on the rise, however. Last year, 3 percent of the population has an e-cigarette every now and then, whereas in 2012, only 1 percent did. The Trimbos-institute has published figures that show smoking to be on the decline in general. Smokers lit up an average of one cigarette less per day. The total number of cigarettes smoked every day went down from 13.9 to 13.1, the figures show. For the rise in e-cigarettes, the Trimbos-institute has no answer, but a good guess would be the fact that the e-cigarette is marketed as less harmful than normal cigarettes. The e-cigarettes could also be used as an aid to quit smoking entirely. Most smokers occupy the 25-54 age group (30 percent). Of those over 75 years old, only ten percent smokes.