Rising vape pod popularity disrupted declining use of electronic nicotine delivery systems among young adults in Texas, USa from 2014 to 2019.

Introduction:
This text is a study examining the longitudinal trajectory of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use among young adults in Texas, USa, from 2014-2019. The study aims to determine if there are changes in the trajectory among younger and older young adults post-2017, when vape pods surged in popularity in the United States. The study used a nine-wave longitudinal design with socio-demographic covariates of sex, race/ethnicity, type of college attended at baseline, and time-varying age.

Key Points:

* The study used a nine-wave longitudinal design with a sample size of 5,218 young adults aged 18-25 years old at baseline.
* The study examined the trajectory of ENDS use among younger and older young adults post-2017, when vape pods surged in popularity.
* The study controlled for socio-demographic covariates of sex, race/ethnicity, type of college attended at baseline, and time-varying age.
* The study found that current ENDS use significantly declined from 2014 to spring 2017 and then significantly increased from autumn 2017 to 2019.
* The increase in current ENDS use from autumn 2017 to 2019 occurred only for younger participants, not older participants.
* The study suggests that the surge in the popularity of vape pods in the United States in late 2017 may have contributed to increasing use of ENDS among younger young adults.

Main Message:
The study highlights the importance of monitoring the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems, particularly vape pods, among young adults. The surge in the popularity of vape pods in the United States in late 2017 may have contributed to increasing use of ENDS among younger young adults. Therefore, regulatory measures should be implemented to prevent the use of ENDS among young adults, particularly vape pods, which can expose users to high concentrations of nicotine. This study emphasizes the need for stricter regulations of ENDS products, including vape pods, to eliminate appealing flavors and to limit nicotine concentrations.

Loukas a, Marti CN, Pasch KE, harrell MB, Wilkinson aV, Perry CL. Rising vape pod popularity disrupted declining use of electronic nicotine delivery systems among young adults in Texas, USa from 2014 to 2019. addiction (abingdon, England). 2022;117(1):216-223. doi:10.1111/add.15616