Flavored Tobacco Product Use Among US Youth Aged 12-17 Years, 2013-2014

Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of flavored tobacco product use among US youth aged 12-17 years. The study examines data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study and discusses the role of flavored tobacco products in initiating tobacco use among youth. The key points and main message of the text are summarized below.

Key Points:
- The study uses data from the PATH Study, a nationally representative, longitudinal cohort study of adults and youth in the US.
- Among youth ever-users of tobacco products, the majority reported that the first product they had used was flavored.
- The overall proportion of flavored product use among past 30-day youth tobacco users is high, particularly for hookahs, e-cigarettes, and cigars.
- Youth consistently report product flavoring as a reason for use across all product types.
- The study confirms widespread appeal of flavored products among youth tobacco users.
- Potential study limitations include recall difficulty and mode differences in household- vs school-based youth tobacco surveys.
- Future PATH Study waves can provide information on tobacco use trajectories following experimentation with flavored compared with nonflavored products.

Main Message:
The study emphasizes the significant role of flavored tobacco products in attracting youth to tobacco use. The findings suggest that continued proven tobacco control and prevention strategies, as well as efforts to decrease use of flavored tobacco products among youth, should be considered. The study highlights the importance of regulatory measures in addressing the widespread appeal of flavored tobacco products among youth and preventing tobacco use initiation.

Ambrose, Bridget K., Hannah R. Day, Brian Rostron, Kevin P. Conway, Nicolette Borek, Andrew Hyland, and Andrea C. Villanti. “Flavored Tobacco Product Use Among US Youth Aged 12-17 Years, 2013-2014.” JAMA 314, no. 17 (November 3, 2015): 1871. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2015.13802.