BackgroundSustainable development and public health quite strongly correlate, being connected and conditioned by one another. This paper therein attempts to offer a representation of Europe’s current situation of sustainable development in the area of public health.MethodsA dataset on sustainable development in the area of public health consisting of 31 European countries (formally proposed by the European Union Commission and EUROSTAT) has been used in this paper in order to evaluate said issue for the countries listed thereof. A statistical method which synthesizes several indicators into one quantitative indicator has also been utilized. Furthermore, the applied method offers the possibility to obtain an optimal set of variables for future studies of the problem, as well as for the possible development of indicators.ResultsAccording to the results obtained, Norway and Iceland are the two foremost European countries regarding sustainable development in the area of public health, whereas Romania, Lithuania, and Latvia, some of the European Union’s newest Member States, rank lowest. The results also demonstrate that the most significant variables (more than 80%) in rating countries are found to be “healthy life years at birth, females” (r2 = 0.880), “healthy life years at birth, males” (r2 = 0.864), “death rate due to chronic diseases, males” (r2 = 0.850), and “healthy life years, 65, females” (r2 = 0.844).ConclusionsBased on the results of this paper, public health represents a precondition for sustainable development, which should be continuously invested in and improved.After the assessment of the dataset, proposed by EUROSTAT in order to evaluate progress towards the agreed goals of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS), this paper offers an improved set of variables, which it is hoped, may initiate further studies concerning this problem.

INTRODUCTION The latest evidence-based Guidelines for Treating Tobacco Dependence highlight the significant role of healthcare professionals in supporting smokers interested to quit. This study aimed to identify the current practices of healthcare professionals in Europe and perceived barriers in delivering tobacco treatment to their patients who smoke. METHODS In the context of EPACTT-Plus, collaborating institutions from 15 countries (

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INTRODUCTIONConcurrent use of tobacco products is associated with an increased risk of nicotine dependence and smoking-related health complications. Growing popularity of concurrent use of cigarettes and electronic cigarettes and/or waterpipe tobacco is of concern, especially due to the adolescents’ exposure to nicotine and call for the better understanding of patterns and predictors of multiple product use.METHODSThis is a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data obtained through the 2017 Global Youth Tobacco Survey conducted in Serbia on a nationally representative sample of 3362 students aged 13–15 years. Students were categorized into eight groups based on their experience with cigarette, e-cigarette and waterpipe use. To explore differences in sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics, students were further placed in four groups: non-users; exclusive cigarette users; users of e-cigarette and/or waterpipe who do not smoke cigarettes; cigarette and other product users.RESULTSWe show that among the 13–15 years old students, the most common pattern of tobacco/nicotine use is waterpipe and/or e-cigarette use with no cigarette smoking (7.5%, 95% CI: 6.6–8.4) followed by exclusive cigarette use (5.8 %, 95% CI: 5.0–6.6). Among cigarette smokers, 52.8% were exclusive cigarette smokers. Having the majority of their friends smoking is a mutual predictor for exclusive cigarette (AOR=33.2, 95% CI: 14.52–75.90) waterpipe and/or e-cigarette (AOR=2.57, 95% CI: 1.56–4.25) and cigarette and other products use (AOR=52.3, 95% CI:12.28–223.22) compared to no use of any product, and the same in the case of exposure at the point-of-sale marketing: exclusive cigarette vs not any product users (AOR=1.82, 95% CI: 1.22–2.73); waterpipe and or/e-cigarette vs not any product users (AOR=1.64, 95% CI:1.18–2.28); and cigarette and other products vs not any product users (AOR=3.40, 95% CI: 1.99–5.80).CONCLUSIONSTobacco control interventions should address dual- and poly-tobacco use with special focus on inter-personal factors and protection from exposure to advertising of e-cigarettes and waterpipes.

Electronic cigarettes are popular in Serbia; one in ten adults had tried them at least once. Because females and young adults were more likely to use e-cigarettes, a targeted response in these specific groups is needed. A standardised methodology for monitoring e-cigarette use should be established and surveys exploring motives for and attitudes towards e-cigarettes use should be conducted.