BackgroundThe purpose was to assess prevalence and correlates of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use in Greece in 2017.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 4058 adults living in Attica prefecture (35% of the Greek adult population) was performed in May 2017 through telephone interviews. Prevalence and frequency of e-cigarette use were assessed according to the smoking status, and logistic regression analysis was performed to identify correlates of use.ResultsCurrent smoking was reported by 32.6% of participants. Ever e-cigarette use was reported by 54.1% (51.4–56.8%) of current smokers, 24.1% (21.7–26.5%) of former smokers and 6.5% (5.3–7.7%) of never smokers. Past experimentation was the most prevalent pattern of e-cigarette use among ever users (P < 0.001). Almost 80% of ever and 90% of current e-cigarette users were using nicotine. Extrapolated to the whole Attica population (3.1 million), there were 1 million current smokers, 848,000 ever e-cigarette users and 155,000 current e-cigarette users. The majority of current e-cigarette users (62.2%) were former smokers. Only 0.2% of never smokers were current e-cigarette users. One out of 20 participants considered e-cigarettes a lot less harmful than smoking. Being current or former smoker were the strongest correlates current e-cigarette use (OR 30.82, 95%CI 10. 21–69.33 and OR 69.33, 95%CI 23.12–207.90 respectively).ConclusionsE-cigarette use in Greece is largely confined to current or former smokers, while current use and nicotine use by never smokers is extremely rare. The majority of current e-cigarette users were former smokers. Most participants overestimate the harmfulness of e-cigarettes relative to smoking.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12954-018-0229-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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The Macedonia name dispute was resolved in 2018 with the signing of the Prespa Agreement. Ambassador Nimetz – one of the key players in the solution efforts – queried recently “Why did it take us so long?”, echoing the confusion of foreign observers about what has routinely been seen as an incomprehensible spat. This article provides more context about the past intractability of the dispute by focusing on the role of Greek public opinion. Taking stock of the literature on the relationship between foreign policy-making and public opinion, our analysis identifies key parameters for investigating the influence of Greek public opinion on policy. We test these parameters against empirical data from a comprehensive poll on the name dispute that was conducted in 2016, only a few months before the start of the negotiations that led to the Prespa Agreement. Our analysis demonstrates the extent and depth of the Greek public’s opposition to any compromise, as well as the emotional involvement in the Macedonia name dispute. The findings have implications for our understanding of the process that led to the settlement of the dispute as well as the challenges of implementing the agreement.

Theories of mediatization and domestication provide an analytical framework in understanding how patterns of interpretation are related to the public opinion’s attitudes towards actors and topics. In this study, we focus on the coverage of the Skripal case by major Greek newspapers in March 2018 in a pursuit to determine the variety of dispositions towards Russia. The Greek media’s coverage seems to comply with a disengaged approach: more news than views. The majority of news reports -instead of opinions- can be regarded as an effect of awkwardness or a choice not to provide analysis on Russia, even though the abundant news reports have the exact opposite effect of maintaining the public’s vivid interest. By performing a content analysis on articles with references to Russia, we seek to look beneath this veneer. We suggest that the Greek newspapers’ coverage is linked with more structural traits, such as Russophilia, as we identify several distinct subcultures in the press when it comes to dispositions towards Russia.