New student study finds medical education alone did not prevent nicotine use

A newly accepted article in Frontiers in Psychology reports that medical education alone did not appear to protect students from nicotine use. The study compared physiotherapy students with humanities students at universities in southern Poland.

The researchers surveyed 388 students aged 18 to 29 using printed questionnaires during scheduled classes. Among students who used e-cigarettes, nicotine dependence was assessed using a vaping-adapted Fagerström test. The abstract reports that overall nicotine use was similar in the medical and non-medical groups, but the type of nicotine product differed.

According to the authors, medical students more often used disposable and standard e-cigarettes, while traditional cigarettes were more common among non-medical students. Peer influence was reported as a significant factor, and most e-cigarette use happened in social situations.

The study’s conclusion is cautious but useful: knowledge or medical training may change the preferred nicotine product without necessarily preventing nicotine use. For UK adult readers, that is a reminder that vaping behaviour is not only about risk information. Social settings, habit, product availability and nicotine dependence can all shape use.

The limitations are important. This was a cross-sectional student survey in one region of Poland, not a UK population study, and the final formatted article was not yet available on the Frontiers page at the time checked. It cannot prove that medical education caused any difference in product choice, and it should not be used to make personal medical decisions.

UK public-health advice remains more specific: the NHS frames vaping as a tool that can help adult smokers move away from cigarettes, while also saying vaping is not harmless and is not recommended for people under 18. This study adds a narrower point: prevention messages may need to account for social use and peer influence, not only factual knowledge.