Flavored E-cigarette Use and Cigarette Smoking Reduction and Cessation—A Large National Study among Young Adult Smokers

Introduction:
This text provides a summary of a study examining the relationship between e-cigarette flavor use and cigarette smoking behavior change among young adults. The study uses data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study and includes a nationally representative sample of young adults. The study aims to inform tobacco prevention and intervention efforts and regulatory decisions regarding e-cigarette flavors.

Key Points:

* The study found that young adults' cigarette smoking reduction and cessation between waves 1 and 2 was positively associated with their NTM flavored e-cigarette use.
* This relationship may be due to young adults seeking a significant change in sensory experience after reducing cigarette smoking, or it may be that NTM flavored e-cigarette use contributes to smoking reduction and cessation.
* NTM flavored e-cigarette use was associated with increased e-cigarette use frequency and amount, which may pose a significant health risk for young adults.
* Current TM flavor users were less likely to have reduced or quit smoking, which may be due to their less positive view of e-cigarettes and differences in e-cigarette use characteristics.
* The study suggests that e-cigarette flavor use has a critical and complex relationship with cigarette smoking behavior change among young adults.

Main Message:
The study highlights the need for effective interventions to help young adult smokers cut down on smoking, increase harm perceptions about NTM flavored e-cigarette use, and facilitate tobacco cessation among this group. Doctors and public health educators should recommend evidence-based smoking cessation methods approved by the FDA, and young adults should be advised to quit tobacco products altogether. Future research is needed to examine the long-term influence of NTM flavored e-cigarette use on smoking, multiple tobacco use, and nicotine dependence. Regulatory decisions should consider the multifaceted influence of e-cigarette flavors on young adults' health outcomes.

Chen, Julia Cen. “Flavored E-Cigarette Use and Cigarette Smoking Reduction and Cessation—A Large National Study among Young Adult Smokers.” Substance Use & Misuse 53, no. 12 (October 15, 2018): 2017–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2018.1455704.