Search

Introduction: Rapid increase in youth use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) led the state and the federal governments to implement minimum-age policies to restrict minors' access to vaping products. Limited success of the age restrictions fueled efforts to increase the distribution age of all tobacco products to 21 (ie, Tobacco 21 or T21 policies). With limited data on the T21 policies, the current study examines the prevalence of ENDS use and the perceptions about ENDS among youth in the pre- and post-policy-implementation periods for one of these bans in the state of Florida. Methods: This study conducted secondary analysis on the responses from the 2014 and 2015 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey, which collected cross-sectional data. Results: Compared to the data from spring of 2014, the minimum-age policy enacted on July 1, 2014 did not lead to a significant decrease in Florida's high school and middle school students' ever ENDS use (14.9% in 2014 vs 25.8% in 2015) and current ENDS use (7.5% in 2014 vs 12.4% in 2015). There was some ambiguity among students regarding the ENDS harm—more students in 2015 thought of ENDS as both equally (11.0% vs 7.7%) and less (32.4% vs 28%) harmful than cigarettes. There was a decrease in the proportion of students who were unsure about their answer to this question (51.5% vs 59.2%). Conclusions: Policy change alone may not be effective in shifting the trend of ENDS use among middle and high school students. Although students may know about some of the ENDS effects, many of them are still not aware about the harms. Interventions in school and in the community should be aiming to raise this awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Rapid increase in youth use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) led the state and the federal governments to implement minimum-age policies to restrict minors' access to vaping products. Limited success of the age restrictions fueled efforts to increase the distribution age of all tobacco products to 21 (ie, Tobacco 21 or T21 policies). With limited data on the T21 policies, the current study examines the prevalence of ENDS use and the perceptions about ENDS among youth in the pre- and post-policy-implementation periods for one of these bans in the state of Florida. METHODS: This study conducted secondary analysis on the responses from the 2014 and 2015 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey, which collected cross-sectional data. RESULTS: Compared to the data from spring of 2014, the minimum-age policy enacted on July 1, 2014 did not lead to a significant decrease in Florida's high school and middle school students' ever ENDS use (14.9% in 2014 vs 25.8% in 2015) and current ENDS use (7.5% in 2014 vs 12.4% in 2015). There was some ambiguity among students regarding the ENDS harm--more students in 2015 thought of ENDS as both equally (11.0% vs 7.7%) and less (32.4% vs 28%) harmful than cigarettes. There was a decrease in the proportion of students who were unsure about their answer to this question (51.5% vs 59.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Policy change alone may not be effective in shifting the trend of ENDS use among middle and high school students. Although students may know about some of the ENDS effects, many of them are still not aware about the harms. Interventions in school and in the community should be aiming to raise this awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence and incidence of chronic venous leg ulcers (CVLUs) are increasing worldwide, as are the associated financial costs. Although it has long been known that their underlying etiology is venous insufficiency, the molecular aspects of healing versus nonhealing, as well as the psychoneurologic symptoms (PNS; pain, cognitive dysfunction, fatigue, depression, and anxiety) associated with CVLUs remain understudied. In this biobehaviorally focused review, we aim to elucidate the complex mechanisms that link the biological and molecular aspects of CLVUs with their PNS. Innovations in "omics" research have increased our understanding of important wound microenvironmental factors (e.g., inflammation, microbial pathogenic biofilm, epigenetic processes) that may adversely alter the wound bed's molecular milieu so that microbes evade immune detection. Although these molecular factors are not singularly responsible for wound healing, they are major components of wound development, nonhealing, and PNS that, until now, have not been amenable to systematic study, especially over time. Further, this review explores our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which the immune activation that contributes to the development and persistence of CVLUs also leads to the development, persistence, and severity of wound-related PNS. We also make recommendations for future research that will expand the field of biobehavioral wound science. Biobehavioral research that focuses on the interrelated mechanisms of PNS will lead to symptom-management interventions that improve quality of life for the population burdened by CVLUs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the harmful effect on health, e-cigarette and hookah smoking in youth in the U.S. has increased. Developing tailored e-cigarette and hookah cessation programs for youth is imperative. The aim of this study was to identify predictor variables such as social, mental, and environmental determinants that cause nicotine addiction in youth e-cigarette or hookah users and build nicotine addiction prediction models using machine learning algorithms. A total of 6511 participants were identified as ever having used e-cigarettes or hookah from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (2019) datasets. Prediction models were built by Random Forest with ReliefF and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO). ReliefF identified important predictor variables, and the Davies–Bouldin clustering evaluation index selected the optimal number of predictors for Random Forest. A total of 193 predictor variables were included in the final analysis. Performance of prediction models was measured by Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Confusion Matrix. The results suggested high performance of prediction. Identified predictor variables were aligned with previous research. The noble predictors found, such as 'witnessed e-cigarette use in their household' and 'perception of their tobacco use', could be used in public awareness or targeted e-cigarette and hookah youth education and for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]