Lukasz Balwicki

Medical University of Gdansk | MUG · Department of Public Health and Social Medicine

Background and Objectives: Armed conflict and war are public health disasters. In such scenarios, public health action has a crucial role in emergency and rehabilitation, and the importance of war prevention and peace promotion (“peace through public health”) is increasingly recognised. While this role is by now well conceptualised in public health...

There is general agreement among scholars and policymakers that efforts to reduce smoking and prevent nicotine use should be intensified and focused on the most vulnerable part of society—adolescents. Regardless of common knowledge about the health consequences of smoking, according to data from 2020, about 51% of children in Poland had their first...

New tobacco and nicotine-containing products are gaining more popularity among young people. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence in the perception of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco among young people in Poland and to assess the factors that are positively correlated with this perception. A cross-sectional study covering almost 12,000...

Smoking and the use of electronic cigarettes pose a risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the study was to analyze the initiation of these behaviors among Polish youth. The cross-sectional study was carried out in 2020 on a sample of secondary school students (N = 19241) representative of the Polish population, using the CAWI method. In order...

Smoking and the use of electronic cigarettes pose a risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the study was to analyze the availability of these products for Polish youth. The cross-sectional study was carried out in 2020 on a sample of secondary school students (N = 19241) representative of the Polish population, using the CAWI method. In order t...

Identifying predictors of e-cigarette use initiation is important for preventing young persons from becoming smokers. Because of the addictiveness, harmful effects but on the other hand attractiveness and fashion for e-cigarettes among young people, teen use of tobacco related products is a significant public health concern. This study evaluated th...

Teen use of tobacco-related products is a significant public health concern. This study evaluated the predictors of e-cigarette use among secondary school students who were never cigarette smokers and ever cigarette smokers in Poland. Methods: This study examined a sample of Polish youths aged 13-19 (n = 19,241) attending 200 schools, 12 on avera...

Background: The amount of data available online is constantly increasing, including search behavior and tracking trends in domains such as Google. Analyzing the data helps to predict patient needs and epidemiological events more accurately. Our study aimed to identify dermatology-related terms that occur seasonally and any search anomalies during...

Background: Tobacco industry interference weakens public health policy across the globe. It is important to monitor tobacco industry activities to strengthen defense. Objectives: To assess the influence of tobacco industry companies on the government's public health policies in Poland. Methods: This study makes an assessment of the intensity, fre...

Background: Europe's Beating Cancer Plan aims to create a 'Tobacco-Free Generation' by 2040. To generate meaningful public health policy to achieve this target, we must understand more clearly the determinants of youth smoking initiation. Methods: We examine the determinants of cigarette smoking initiation in Poland using survival analysis techn...

Aim: To discover the relationship between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism and professional burnout in laboratory diagnosticians in the Pomorskie [Pomeranian] Voivodship, Poland. Material and methods: The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and the Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism Questionnaire (PAD) were used in the descriptive cross-se...

Even though smoking causes numerous threats to the developing foetus, it is the most common addiction in Polish women of reproductive age. Most studies undertake to examine the subject of opposing second-hand smoking or creating tools to reprimand pregnant women more effectively using a qualitative methodology. The study aimed to determine the prof...

E-prescription is already used in many countries, improving the standard of patient care. Officially, from 8 January 2020 e-prescribing has been obligated in Poland. Physicians’ and pharmacists’ opinions on e-prescribing have been widely researched and reported in the literature. In contrast, patients’ perception has, to date, received little atten...

Nosocomial infections pose a serious burden for hospitals, patients, and the entire society. The aim of the study was to assess the microbiological cleanliness of the hospital environment through quantitative and qualitative analysis of microbiological contamination of air and surfaces in inpatient treatment facilities, based on the example of a la...

Introduction: Vaccinations are referred to as one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine. However, their effectiveness is also constantly denied by certain groups in society. This results in an ongoing dispute that has been gradually moving online in the last few years due to the development of technology. Our study aimed to utilize social...

Background: E-prescribing is the most important achievement in the automation of the healthcare sector in Poland. Obligatory electronic prescribing came into force on 8 January 2020. This innovation significantly changes the work of doctors. Therefore, it is useful to identify the factors that have an impact on doctors' acceptance levels for the n...

Background Even though vaccinations are referred to as one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine, they are constantly associated with the mood present in part of society denying their sense and effectiveness. The development of technology has moved discussions about vaccinations to the space of the internet. The study aims to analyze the...

Background The problem of tobacco use among minors and in their immediate environment remains a significant challenge in Poland. Although Poland has passed smoke free law children are still being exposed to tobacco smoke. The purpose of this study was to analyze the phenomenon of tobacco use by children in City of Sopot and in their surroundings....

Research shows that over 80% of smokers start their habit under the age of 18. A few years ago young people undertook risky behaviors related to nicotine initiation mainly by smoking cigarettes. Today, next to traditional tobacco products, electronic cigarettes are becoming more and more popular. Due to the prevalence of new forms of nicotine addic...

In accordance with the provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), each country shall promote and strengthen public awareness of tobacco control issues (Article 12). Many parties to the FCTC have adopted national tobacco control programs to organize their tobacco control activities. The aim of our study was to analyze the...

The threat of tobacco tax evasion and avoidance is the most commonly mentioned argument against tax hikes. Increasingly, the focus of legislators is on leaks in the tobacco crop supply chain, in which raw or cured tobacco that was never taxed finds its way to smokers. To study the process undertaken by Poland to secure the tobacco supply chain, we...

Presently, a growing popularity of electronic cigarettes may be observed. Used as a means of obtaining nicotine they allow to substitute traditional cigarettes. The origins of substance use disorders are conditioned by dopaminergic signaling which influences motivational processes being elementary factors conditioning the process of learning and ex...

Background For many years Poland has been undertaking initiatives aimed at reducing the problem of smoking among citizens. Many educational and legislative activities have been carried out. One of them was introduction of smoking ban in workplaces and other public places in 2010. The aim of the was to look for attitudes of Polish employers towards...

Objectives This study aimed at assessment of the perceived barriers and motivators to smoking cessation among socially-disadvantaged populations in Poland. It is hypothesized that different factors can be considered depending on the level of smoking addiction. Therefore, a comparison between light and heavy smokers was performed. Material and Meth...

Previous digital divide research has studied the Internet for empowerment of marginalized people such as ethnic and sexual minorities. This study focused on the digital divide among another minority group: persons with mental illness in the community. A nonprobability cross-sectional sampling survey was conducted in Poland. Cluster analysis was con...

Cel pracy Ocena struktury gminnego programu ochrony zdrowia psychicznego. Metoda Przedmiotem analizy był Gdański Program Ochrony Zdrowia Psychicznego na lata 2016-2023. Dokonano weryfikacji zawartości oraz analizy treści dokumentu w porównaniu z dostępnym wzorem programu polityki zdrowotnej, opracowanym przez Agencję Oceny Technologii Medycznych i...

Background: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among youths in Poland has become very popular. The aim of this study was to identify the potential points of access to these products by students aged 16–17 years old before implementation of sales restrictions to minors in Poland in November 2016. Methods: A school-based, cross-sectional survey w...

Introduction Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among youth in Poland become very popular. Since the onset of this product access to these products was unrestricted. The aim of this study was to establish functioning of channels of e-cigarettes supply among students aged 16-18 in Poland. Methods A school-based, cross-sectional survey was admin...

Background: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among youth in Poland has become very popular. The aim of this study was to identify potential points of access to these products among students aged 16-17 before implementation of sales restrictions to minors in Poland in November 2016. Methods: A school-based, cross-sectional survey was administe...

Global mental health programs and interventions are increasingly adopting social inclusion as a key outcome measure and this reflects the emerging need for a global measure of social inclusion that was tested in diverse cultural settings (Baumgartner and Burns in Int J Epidemiol 43:354–364, 2014). This paper reports the results of adapting the Soci...

What are “public health services”? Countries across Europe understand what they are, or what they should include, differently. This study describes the experiences of nine countries, detailing the ways they have opted to organize and finance public health services and train and employ their public health workforce. It covers England, France, German...

Introduction: Smoking rates among women in Poland are high, and access to specialized smoking cessation services in rural areas are limited. The aim of this study was to assess factors related to quitting among pregnant women who smoke in rural areas of Poland. Methods: Data were collected during interviews conducted by midwives among 4512 women...

Migrant and minority health has always been an issue of special concern in public health. While migration is not a new phenomenon, the number of refugees and migrants across the globe grew rapidly in 2015, with large numbers from the Middle East and Africa. Furthermore, the recent migrant crisis in Europe—sparked by civil wars in Syria and Libya an...

Objectives: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are gaining in popularity among youth. While these products may be beneficial in adult smokers, the effect on young users of electronic and tobacco cigarettes (dual users) is unknown. The objective of this study was to assess the frequency of dual use among adolescents and to compare tobacco cigaret...

Background: Since 2006, when Poland ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), there have been efforts to improve tobacco control regulation in the country. At the same time, at the European Union level, Poland took part in discussions over revision of the Tobacco Tax Directive and the Tobacco Products Directive. This study a...

The aim of the work was to assess among pregnant women from small towns and villages in Poland: the prevalence of smoking, credibility of smoking, and influence of socioeconomic factors on smoking status. The data came from 4512 interviews with women in different trimesters of pregnancy. The interviews were collected in 2007 and 2008 year in towns...

Purpose: Despite the potential negative health effects of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), these devices are increasing in popularity worldwide, especially among youth. Methods: We compared data from two cross-sectional studies conducted in Poland among students aged 15-19 years in 2010-2011 and 2013-2014. We tested differences between samp...

The article presents current legal regulations in Poland in tobacco control law in the context of the spread of the tobacco epidemic and its effects on both public health and the health of individuals. Scientific evidence confirms that the use of the tobacco products and exposure to tobacco smoke are the cause of death, disease and disability. Ther...

Issue: Poland since many years has one of the biggest prevalence of smoking people in Europe as well as damages caused by secondhand smoke. Antitobacco Act from the year 1995 introduced in Poland smokefree places: workplaces, hospitals, schools. It was one of the first comprehensive antitobacco acts in Europe at that time. Regulators knew that list...

Background: Arterial hypertension (HT) is one the most frequent cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor. When the doctor recognizes hypertension he should search for and treat not only HT but also the other risk factors, especially cigarette smoking. Material and methods: In 2002 year, we conducted national, cross sectional epidemiological survey...