associations Between Nicotine Metabolite Ratio and Gender With Transitions in Cigarette Smoking Status and E-Cigarette Use: Findings across Waves 1 and 2 of the Population assessment of Tobacco and health (PaTh) Study.

Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of the Population assessment of Tobacco and health (PaTh) study, a nationally representative, longitudinal cohort study assessing tobacco use in the US population. The study focuses on the associations between nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR) and gender with transitions in cigarette smoking status and e-cigarette use status across waves 1 and 2 of the PaTh study.

Key Points:

* NMR and gender were not significantly associated with quit behavior for combustible cigarettes.
* a significant two-way interaction demonstrated that women with higher NMR were less likely to quit e-cigarette use compared to women with lower NMR.
* Men with higher NMR had a trend-level increase in odds of quitting e-cigarette use between waves 1 and 2.
* NMR was not significantly associated with transitions in quitting cigarette smoking.
* The PaTh study has limited information available to understand the null finding of no gender difference in NMR.
* Future work should collect data on menstrual cycle history or contraceptive use to elucidate the potential effect of sex hormones on the gender differences observed in the current study.
* NMR may have clinical utility as a biomarker of e-cigarette quit behavior.

Main Message:
The study identifies that women with faster nicotine metabolism were 10 times less likely to quit e-cigarettes compared to women with slower nicotine metabolism. The results suggest that NMR may be used as a biomarker for transitions in e-cigarette quit behavior for women, and further research is needed to establish parameters for NMR collection and use as a biomarker for cigarette smoking behavior and e-cigarette use. The findings have implications for early intervention and treatment for cessation.

Verplaetse TL, Peltier MR, Roberts W, Moore KE, Pittman BP, McKee Sa. associations Between Nicotine Metabolite Ratio and Gender With Transitions in Cigarette Smoking Status and E-Cigarette Use: Findings across Waves 1 and 2 of the Population assessment of Tobacco and health (PaTh) Study. Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. 2020;22(8):1316-1321. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntaa022