First tobacco product tried among adolescents based on race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of the first tobacco product tried among adolescents, examining the role of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) in tobacco product initiation. The study aims to understand the current tobacco product initiation patterns among youth in order to inform tobacco prevention strategies.

Key Points:

* The study uses cross-sectional survey data collected from 6 Connecticut high schools in Spring 2019.
* The analytic sample comprises ever users of tobacco products who reported on the first tobacco product they tried.
* Of ever tobacco product users, 64.6% reported that their first tobacco product tried was an e-cigarette, 24.4% reported blunts, 6.5% reported another tobacco product, and 4.5% reported cigarettes.
* A multinomial logistic regression model was used to examine race/ethnicity and SES as predictors of the first tobacco product tried with cigarettes as the reference group.
* Compared to Non-Hispanic White students, Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and students of Other Race were less likely to report tobacco product initiation via e-cigarettes.
* Non-Hispanic Black students were more likely than Non-Hispanic White students to report trying blunts as their first tobacco product.
* Middle SES students were more likely than low SES students to report trying e-cigarettes as their first tobacco product.

Main Message:
The findings suggest that youth of different backgrounds initiate tobacco use with different tobacco products, and tailored prevention strategies are needed. The high rate of adolescents initiating tobacco use with e-cigarettes highlights the importance of focusing prevention efforts on e-cigarettes. Additionally, the role of blunts in tobacco product initiation, especially among Black adolescents, should be considered in new prevention efforts.

Grobman B, Wu R, Jackson A, et al. First tobacco product tried among adolescents based on race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Addictive behaviors. 2021;113:106666. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106666