Longitudinal transitions of exclusive and polytobacco electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use among youth, young adults and adults in the USa: findings from the PaTh Study Waves 1-3 (2013-2016).

Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of the longitudinal transitions of exclusive and polytobacco electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use among youth, young adults, and adults in the USa. The study uses data from the first three waves (2013-2016) of the Population assessment of Tobacco and health Study. The text includes key points about the cross-sectional prevalence and longitudinal pathways of ENDS use among different age groups.

Key Points:

* The study found that ever use of ENDS significantly increased at each wave for all age groups.
* Young adults had the highest percentages of past 12-month, past 30-day, and daily past 30-day ENDS use compared with youth and adults 25+.
* Only about a quarter of ENDS users had persistent past 30-day use at each wave.
* Most ENDS users were polytobacco users.
* Exclusive wave 1 ENDS users had a higher proportion of subsequent discontinued any tobacco use compared with polytobacco ENDS users who also used cigarettes.
* The majority of ENDS users in each age group also used another tobacco product.
* There were notably different patterns of ENDS use for exclusive versus polytobacco users.
* Longitudinal patterns of ENDS use over the first three waves of the PaTh Study differ notably from trends presented in parallel reports of PaTh Study data focused on other tobacco products.

Main Message:
The study highlights that ENDS use is most common among young adults compared with youth and adults 25+. however, continued use of ENDS over two years is not common for any age group. The study suggests that health education efforts might focus on reducing ENDS experimentation and reaching the smaller subgroups of daily ENDS users to better understand their reasons for use. additionally, the study emphasizes that most ENDS users are also users of other tobacco products, and there are different patterns of use for exclusive versus polytobacco users. Therefore, regulations and education efforts should consider these differences to effectively reduce tobacco use among different age groups.

Stanton Ca, Sharma E, Edwards KC, et al. Longitudinal transitions of exclusive and polytobacco electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use among youth, young adults and adults in the USa: findings from the PaTh Study Waves 1-3 (2013-2016). Tobacco control. 2020;29:s147-s154. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2019-055574