adult Social Environments and the Use of Combustible and Electronic Cigarettes: Opportunities for Reducing Smoking in the 30s.

Introduction:
This text summarizes a research study investigating the relationship between social environmental factors and cigarette use in adults in their 30s. The study tested pathways hypothesized by the social development model and included both combustible and electronic cigarettes in the analysis. The researchers aimed to understand how social environmental factors at age 33 contribute to changes in cigarette use from age 30 to age 39.

Key Points:

* The study is based on data from the Seattle Social Development Project, a longitudinal study with high retention.
* The study tested the social development model, which posits that an individual's health behaviors are influenced by opportunities for interaction with others in their social environments.
* The study found that cigarette-using environments at age 33 predicted personal beliefs about smoking, which in turn predicted combustible cigarette use at age 39.
* however, cigarette-using environments directly predicted electronic cigarette use at age 39, with no significant role for beliefs about smoking.
* The study found that cigarette use was highly stable across the 30s, but social environmental factors provided significant partial mediation of this stability.
* The study found that pathways were different for combustible and electronic cigarette use.
* The study had a geographically limited sample and used self-report measures.

Main Message:
The study highlights the importance of social environmental factors in influencing cigarette use in adults in their 30s. The findings suggest that addressing personal norms about smoking's acceptability and social costs is likely a promising approach for combustible cigarette use. however, the study also suggests that electronic cigarettes present a new challenge, as many perceived social costs of cigarette use do not readily translate to this relatively recent technology. Overall, the study underscores the need for longitudinal investigation of social mechanisms and cigarette use in adulthood, and the importance of considering the role of social environmental factors in interventions to reduce smoking.

Kosterman R, Epstein M, Bailey Ja, Oesterle S, Furlong M, hawkins JD. adult Social Environments and the Use of Combustible and Electronic Cigarettes: Opportunities for Reducing Smoking in the 30s. Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. 2021;23(3):518-526. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntaa019