No abstract

Monitoring of tobacco use is one of the key tobacco control activities. This study aimed to assess the current prevalence and patterns of tobacco and e-cigarette in Poland as well as to investigate socioeconomic factors associated with cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use. This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2019, on a representative nationwide sample of 1011 individuals aged 15+ in Poland. Daily tobacco smoking was declared by 21.0% of participants; 1.3% of participants were occasional tobacco smokers, and 10.7% were former tobacco smokers. Heated tobacco was used by 0.4% of participants. Ever e-cigarette use was declared by 4.0% of participants and 1.4% were current e-cigarette users. A higher proportion of daily smokers was observed among men than women (24.4% vs. 18.0%; p < 0.0001). The age group 30 to 49 years, of a lower educational level and living in a medium-sized city (between 20,000 and 500,000 residents), was significantly associated with current daily smoking. This is the most up-to-date study on the prevalence of smoking in Poland. Further tobacco control activities are needed to reduce tobacco use in Poland.

As of April 30, 2020, a total of 3 090 445 COVID -19 cases have been reported worldwide, including 217 769 deaths. 4 COVID -19 cases in Europe account for about half of those globally. The first country in Europe with a confirmed SARS -CoV -2 case was France (January 24, 2020). 5 On January 28, the first case was reported in Germany, and 3 days later in Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. 5INTROduCTION Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS -CoV -2) emerged at the end of 2019 in Asia (Hubei province, China) and spread around the world. 1 The SARS -CoV -2 infection causes coronavirus disease 2019 . The most common symptoms at the onset of COVID -19 are fever, cough, fatigue, sore throat, shortness of breath, and myalgia. 1-3

Vaccination is considered as one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions. This study aimed to assess (1) the attitudes and behaviors towards mandatory childhood vaccination, with particular emphasis on socio-economic factors determining the vaccine confidence among adults in Poland as well as to (2) identify the potential impact of anti-vaccination movement on vaccination coverage among children and adolescents aged ≤19 years. This cross-sectional study was carried in 2019 on a nationwide, representative sample of 1079 individuals aged 18 and over in Poland (53.7% females). Most of the respondents (74.6%) agreed or strongly agreed that mandatory vaccinations are safe, and only 8% of participants neglected the safety of vaccines. The results of multivariate analysis showed that the lowest level of vaccine confidence was observed among participants aged 25–34 years (aOR: 0.48, 95%CI: 0.29–0.80; p = 0.01). There was a positive correlation (r = 0.35; p < 0.001) between trust in doctors and vaccine confidence. Moreover, there was a positive correlation between trust in scientific knowledge and vaccine confidence (r = 0.19; p < 0.001). Also, a negative correlation (r = −0.13; p < 0.001) between trust in horoscopes and vaccine confidence was observed. Most of the parents declared (97.7%), that their children were vaccinated following the national immunization programme. However, 8.5% of parents who currently vaccinated their children declared that they would stop vaccinating children when vaccination obligation will be abolished. This study demonstrates relatively high confidence in mandatory vaccination among adults in Poland. While most of society trusts in vaccine safety, young adults are the least trustful of vaccinations.

symptoms while in 14% of cases, symptoms are severe (dyspnea, hypoxia, or >50% lung involvement on imaging) and only 5% of COVID -19 cases are critical (respiratory failure, shock, or multiorgan system dysfunction). 2,4,5 Older age and comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, hypertension, and cancer are risk factors for a severe IntroductIon Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID -19) is a communicable disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS -CoV -2). 1,2 To confirm the diagnosis of COVID -19, it is required to detect SARS -CoV -2 RNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT -PCR). 3 Most COVID -19 cases (approximately 80%) manifest only mild to moderate