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The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study is a nationally representative study of the US population on tobacco use and its effects on health, with four waves of data collection between 2013 and 2017. Prior work described the methods of the first three waves. In this paper, we describe the methods of Wave 4, during which a replenishment sample was added to the ongoing cohort. We describe the design and estimation methods of the continuing Wave 1 cohort (with four waves of data) and the Wave 4 cohort (the new cohort created at Wave 4). We provide survey quality metrics, including response rates for both cohorts and a panel conditioning analysis, and guidance on understanding the target populations for both cohorts., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Tobacco product use is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States. This report used data from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey to assess the following among U.S. high school students: ever use of cigarettes and electronic vapor products, current use (≥1 day during the 30 days before the survey) of tobacco products, frequent use (≥20 days during the 30 days before the survey) among current users of tobacco products, trends in use over time, and usual source of electronic vapor products among current electronic vapor product users. In 2019, a total of 50.1% of U.S. high school students had ever used electronic vapor products, and 24.1% had ever tried cigarette smoking. Current electronic vapor product use was 32.7%, current cigarette smoking was 6.0%, current cigar smoking was 5.7%, and current smokeless tobacco use was 3.8%. Approximately 36.5% of students were current users of any tobacco product, and 8.2% were current users of two or more tobacco products. Frequent use among users of individual products was 32.6% for electronic vapor products, 28.5% for smokeless tobacco, 22.2% for cigarettes, and 18.4% for cigars. Among current electronic vapor product users who were aged ≤17 years, the most commonly reported source was borrowing them from someone else (42.8%). Significant decreases occurred in current cigarette smoking (1991: 27.5%; 2019: 6.0%), cigar smoking (1997: 22.0%; 2019: 5.7%), and smokeless tobacco use (2017: 5.5%; 2019: 3.8%). However, significant increases occurred in current electronic vapor product use (2015: 24.1%; 2019: 32.7%) and any tobacco product use (2017: 19.5%; 2019: 36.5%). Although current cigarette smoking, cigar smoking, and smokeless tobacco use has decreased among high school students, the increased prevalence of electronic vapor product use among youths is concerning. Continued surveillance for all tobacco product use is warranted for guiding and evaluating public health policy at the local, state, tribal, and national levels., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

The Tobacco Regulatory Science Program is a collaborative research effort between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 2013, the NIH funded 14 Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS), which serve as partners in establishing research, training, and professional development programs to guide FDA. Each of the fourteen TCORS, and two other NIH-funded research programs, the Center for the Evaluation of Nicotine in Cigarettes (CENIC) and the Consortium on Methods Evaluating Tobacco (COMET), pursued specific research themes relevant to FDA's priorities. A key mandate for FDA is to reduce tobacco use among young people. This article is a review of the peer-reviewed research, including published and in-press manuscripts, from the TCORS, CENIC, and COMET, which provides specific data or other findings on youth (ages 10-18 years) and/or young adults (ages 18-34 years), from 2013 to 2018. Citations of all TCORS, CENIC, and COMET articles from September 2013 to December 2017 were collected by the TCORS coordinating center, the Center for Evaluation and Coordination of Training and Research. Additional citations up to April 30, 2018 were requested from the principal investigators. A scoring rubric was developed and implemented to assess study type, primary theme, and FDA priority area addressed by each article. The major subareas and findings from each priority area are presented. There were 766 articles in total, with 258 (34%) focusing on youth and/or young adults. Findings relevant to FDA from this review concern impact analysis, toxicity, health effects, addiction, marketing influences, communications, and behavior., Implications: The Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science, CENIC, and COMET have had a high output of scientific articles since 2013. These Centers are unique in that the FDA supports science specifically to guide future regulatory actions. The 258 articles that have focused on youth and/or young adults are providing data for regulatory actions by the FDA related to the key priority areas such as the addictiveness of non-cigarette products, the effects of exposure to electronic cigarette marketing on initiation and cessation, and the impact of flavored products on youth and young adult tobacco use. Future regulations to reduce tobacco use will be guided by the cumulative evidence. These Centers are one innovative mechanism to promote important outcomes to advance tobacco regulatory science., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved.For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Diverse tobacco and nicotine products have altered the terrain of tobacco use behaviors. Limited research has examined contemporary patterns of use among young adults. This study identified tobacco and nicotine product use groups and examined changes in young adults' use patterns, across a 1.5-year period. Participants were 5,482 18-29-year-old students (M age = 20.5, SD = 2.36; 63% female) from 24 Texas colleges who completed a four-wave bi-annual online survey. Latent transition analysis was used to identify groups from 10 items (ever and current use of cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes, and hookah) and to examine probabilities of transitioning between groups over four waves. Five groups were identified: Non-users (30%), Poly-experimenters (26%), Hookah experimenters (18%), E-cigarette & hookah experimenters (15%), and Poly-cigarette users (11%). Few students transitioned between groups over time. Poly-cigarette users had the highest average probability of remaining stable over time (1.00), followed by E-cigarette & hookah experimenters (.97), Non-users (.94), Poly-experimenters (.93), and Hookah experimenters (.92). All groups became more stable over time except Hookah experimenters whose members were most likely to transition to Poly-cigarette users or other experimenter groups. The greatest transition was from Poly-experimenters to Poly-cigarette users with probabilities of .10, .08, and .03 for transitioning between waves one and two, two and three, and three and four, respectively. There was substantial poly-use and experimentation, which may explain little movement between groups over the 1.5-year time period and underscores the need for prevention programs targeting multiple product use among college students.

Introduction: This study assesses the relationship between tobacco/e-cigarette marketing exposure and single, dual, and polytobacco product use, among adolescents. Given the increased use of noncigarette tobacco products (eg, cigars, e-cigarettes, hookah) among youth, it is imperative to understand if marketing exposure is associated with dual and polytobacco product use., Methods: Data were obtained from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey and weighted to be representative of US middle and high school students. Multivariable multinomial logistic regression models were used to assess the relationships between product marketing (via internet, print, retail, and TV/movies) and past 30-day single, dual, and poly (three or more) tobacco product use. Three analyses were conducted using different categories as referent groups to allow for comprehensive examination of the relationships between all groups., Results: Marketing exposure was significantly correlated with a greater risk of single, dual, and polytobacco product use relative to nonusers. Relative to single product users, product marketing exposure was significantly correlated with a greater relative risk of dual and polytobacco use. There was no statistical difference in the association of marketing exposure between dual and polytobacco use, in any model., Conclusion: A positive relationship between tobacco product marketing exposure and number of tobacco products used was observed. The magnitude of the relationship grew from single product to dual/poly use. Restrictions of marketing of all tobacco products, similar to cigarettes, particularly in the retail setting, should be considered., Implications: This study has two primary public health implications. First, self-reported exposure to tobacco/e-cigarette marketing is widespread among adolescents of all tobacco product categories. Second, this widespread exposure to tobacco/e-cigarette marketing appears to not only be correlated with use of a single tobacco product (eg, cigarettes, e-cigarettes), but also multiple tobacco products. While longitudinal studies are needed to further investigate the relationships observed in this study, findings justify further study given the known relationship between tobacco marketing exposure and subsequent cigarette use.

Background: Outcome expectations are an important determinant of health behavior, according to Social Cognitive Theory; yet recent literature has not examined the relationship between outcome expectations and tobacco product use (e.g., use of cigarettes, cigars, hookah, e-cigarettes, or smokeless tobacco)., Objectives: This study examines if outcome expectations at baseline, among an adolescent cohort of never users of tobacco products, predicts tobacco product use (i.e., cigarettes, hookah, e-cigarette, cigar, or smokeless tobacco) or susceptibility to use at 6-month follow-up., Methods: Data are from the first two waves of a Texas cohort study of urban middle school and high school students, which were collected in 2014-2015. Logistic regression analyses were used; these adjusted for socio-demographic variables. Analyses were limited to never users of any tobacco product at baseline (n = 1999, N = 357,035)., Results: Outcome expectations related to stress relief predicted ever use of (AOR: 4.21, 95% CI 1.84-9.60) and susceptibility (AOR: 2.97, 95% CI 1.01-8.70) to tobacco products. Additional outcome expectations (e.g., relaxation, concentration, slimness, etc.) were not associated with ever use or susceptibility. Conclusions/Importance: This study extends the literature regarding outcome expectations among adolescents regarding tobacco products. It is important that interventions offer alternative solutions to stress relief that do not include tobacco products.

Objectives: We assessed risk perceptions and social norms about tobacco use across adolescent non-users of tobacco, single- product users, and dual/poly-product users., Methods: Use behaviors specific to e-cigarettes, cigarettes, hookah, cigars, and smokeless tobacco were assessed among 6th, 8th and 10th grade students (sample [n] = 3907 from a population of [N] = 461,069 students). Multivariate regression was used to examine differences in these factors across use categories, adjusted for demographic factors., Results: Results highlight differences between non-users and single- or dual/poly-product users for most tobacco products. Dual/poly-product users differed from single-product users most notably in their higher perceived use of tobacco products by close friends and dating partners, and a higher proportion of single-product users reported most products were not harmful and not addictive compared to non-users. Few differences were seen between dual/poly-product users and single-product users in their perceptions of harm and addictiveness., Conclusions: Findings demonstrate the importance of proximal social influences (ie, close friends and dating partners) for adolescent dual/poly-tobacco product users. Understanding similarities and differences in risk factors between these adolescent groups can guide effective public health prevention and treatment programs., Competing Interests: Statement None of the authors has any competing interests.

Objectives: To examine associations between current multiple tobacco product use, and current use of alcohol and marijuana, binge drinking, and lifetime use of marijuana, alcohol, and other drugs among US high school students., Methods: Using 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data (N = 13,583 high school students), logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine if single tobacco product or multiple tobacco product users are more likely to engage in other risk behaviors than zero tobacco product users, controlling for demographic variables., Results: Overall, 23% of the sample used tobacco products and 10% of students reported current use of at least 2 tobacco products. Among single tobacco product users, the odds for engaging in risk behaviors ranged from 3.3 to 9.9 compared to non-tobacco users (p < .0001). Among multiple tobacco product users, the odds ranged from 1.5 to 4.7 (p < .01) compared to single tobacco product users., Conclusions: Results suggest dual users are significantly more likely to engage in risk behavior than non-users and single product users. Future interventions should consider identifying dual-users as at higher risk, and targeting multiple risk behaviors.

Objectives: We examined differences in the characteristics of youth non-users, cigarette-only, e-cigarette-only, and dual e-cigarette and cigarette users., Methods: Using weighted, representative data, logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine differences in demographic characteristics and tobacco use behaviors across tobacco usage groups. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine differences in harm perceptions of various tobacco products and perceived peer use of e-cigarettes by tobacco usage group., Results: Compared to non-users, dual users were more likely to be white, male, and high school students. Dual users had significantly higher prevalence of current use of all products (except hookah) than e-cigarette-only users, and higher prevalence of current use of snus and hookah than the cigarette-only group. Dual users had significantly lower harm perceptions for all tobacco products except for e-cigarettes and hookah as compared to e-cigarette-only users. Dual users reported higher peer use of cigarettes as compared to both exclusive user groups., Conclusion: Findings highlight dual users' higher prevalence of use of most other tobacco products, their lower harm perceptions of most tobacco products compared to e-cigarette-only users, and their higher perceived peer use of cigarettes compared to exclusive users.