Developing a National Longitudinal Tobacco Cohort of Youth and Young Adults: The Tobacco Epidemic Evaluation Network (TEEN+) Study

Introduction:
This text describes the study design and methods of the Tobacco Epidemic Evaluation Network (TEEN+) study, a longitudinal cohort established as part of the Monitoring E-Cigarette Use Among Youth project. The study aims to provide rapid data collection and analysis efforts to complement existing national and state-level surveillance activities and generate robust data for policy evaluation. The text also highlights the importance of the TEEN+ study in evaluating the impact of flavored tobacco product restriction policies and informing policy implementation efforts.

Key Points:

* The TEEN+ study is a longitudinal cohort of youth and young adults established to assess overall trends and within-person changes over time in tobacco product use.
* The study uses probabilistic, address-based sampling and began in July 2022, with invitations for Wave 1 mailed to participants who completed screening, consent, and survey participation online.
* The TEEN+ study cohort is designed to be representative of youth and young adults across the United States, with an oversample of California residents to generate reliable and representative state-level estimates.
* The survey instrument includes questions about e-cigarette use, other tobacco product use, substance use, and related attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge.
* The study fielding and recruitment process includes initial invitations mailed in 9 × 12 envelopes with a $2 incentive, postcards with reminders sent 3× during the fielding period, and a within-household screener respondent to select the participant.
* The study uses validated indicators of tobacco use when available and allows for the assessment of new and emerging products and behavior patterns.
* The TEEN+ study will be subject to limitations inherent to longitudinal survey design, including that it should not be used to assess population-level prevalence or trends.

Main Message:
The TEEN+ study is a critical resource for evaluating the impact of flavored tobacco product restriction policies and informing policy implementation efforts. The study's design and methods provide a robust and adaptable tool for rapid surveillance of the rapidly changing youth vaping epidemic and other tobacco product use patterns. By generating reliable and representative state-level estimates, the study can provide valuable data for local and state tobacco control policies and contribute to the evidence base for effective tobacco control interventions.

Elizabeth L Seaman, Jennifer M Kreslake, Jamie Cordova, Barbara Schillo, Frances Barlas, Kristy Marynak, Developing a National Longitudinal Tobacco Cohort of Youth and Young Adults: The Tobacco Epidemic Evaluation Network (TEEN+) Study, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Volume 27, Issue 4, April 2025, Pages 644–651, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntae064