Flavors increase adolescents’ willingness to try nicotine and cannabis vape products.

Introduction:
This text discusses a study that examines the impact of flavors on adolescents' willingness to try vape products containing nicotine, marijuana, or "just vapor." The study uses a discrete choice experiment embedded within an online survey to assess the preferences of a non-probability sample of adolescents. The researchers aim to quantify the relationship between product characteristics, such as flavor, and adolescents' willingness to try vape products.

Key Points:

* The study uses a discrete choice experiment to assess adolescents' preferences for vape products.
* The survey includes four pairs of hypothetical vape products that vary in device type, content, and flavor.
* Participants are asked which of the displayed vape products they would be more willing to try if a best friend offered.
* The study includes 2342 adolescents, with 99.5% completing all four choice-pairs.
* The analysis includes various participant characteristics, such as gender, age, race/ethnicity, and past 30-day use of any other tobacco product.
* The study finds that fruit, fruit-ice combination, and candy/dessert flavors are associated with greater willingness to try a vape product among participants who do not use e-cigarettes or marijuana.
* Participants who use only e-cigarettes or co-use e-cigarettes and marijuana prefer all flavors over tobacco flavor.
* Participants who use only marijuana prefer no flavor, icy/frost/menthol, and candy/dessert flavors over tobacco flavor.

Main Message:
The study highlights the importance of flavors in adolescents' preferences for vape products. Comprehensive bans on flavored vapes would likely reduce adolescent use. The study also underscores the need for further research on the impact of flavored cannabis products on adolescent use. Overall, the study suggests that policy measures aimed at reducing adolescent access to flavored vape products could help prevent adolescent nicotine and marijuana use.

Chaffee BW, Couch ET, Wilkinson ML, et al. Flavors increase adolescents’ willingness to try nicotine and cannabis vape products. Drug and alcohol dependence. 2023;246:109834. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.109834