Longitudinal Associations of Substance Use Risk Profiles with the Use of Alternative Tobacco Products and Conventional Smoking among Adolescents

Although personality is associated with the onset of substance use (i.e., conventional smoking, alcohol use, and cannabis use) during adolescence, it is unclear whether personality traits are also associated with the onset of use of alternative tobacco products (ATPs), i.e., electronic cigarettes, shisha-pens, and water pipes. This study examines whether personality traits are associated with the onset of use of both conventional cigarettes and ATPs. Longitudinal data (baseline and 18-month follow-up) were used. The sample consisted of 1114 non-user adolescents (mean age = 13.36, SD = 0.93, 56% female) at baseline. To measure personality traits, the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale was used with four subscales: anxiety sensitivity, hopelessness, sensation seeking, and impulsivity. Structural equation models were conducted using Mplus 7.3. Results showed that both hopelessness and sensation seeking were associated with the onset of use of e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes. Further, sensation seeking and impulsivity were associated with the onset of use of shisha-pens and water pipes. In conclusion, to prevent adolescents from using ATPs and/or conventional cigarettes, it is important to take their personality traits into account. More research on other (shared) risk factors and on more advanced stages of ATP use is needed before effective prevention strategies can be developed.

E-Cigarette Toxicology

Since the spread of tobacco from the Americas hundreds of years ago, tobacco cigarettes and, more recently, alternative tobacco products have become global products of nicotine addiction. Within the evolving alternative tobacco product space, electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) vaping has surpassed conventional cigarette smoking among adolescents and young adults in the United States and beyond. This review describes the experimental and clinical evidence of e-cigarette toxicity and deleterious health effects. Adverse health effects related to e-cigarette aerosols are influenced by several factors, including e-liquid components, physical device factors, chemical changes related to heating, and health of the e-cigarette user (e.g., asthmatic). Federal, state, and local regulations have attempted to govern e-cigarette flavors, manufacturing, distribution, and availability, particularly to underaged youths. However, the evolving e-cigarette landscape continues to impede timely toxicological studies and hinder progress made toward our understanding of the long-term health consequence of e-cigarettes. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Volume 62 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Use patterns of cigarettes and alternative tobacco products and socioeconomic correlates in Hong Kong secondary school students

Smoking is a major cause of health inequities. However, sociodemographic differences in adolescent tobacco use are unclear. In a territory-wide school-based anonymous survey in 2018/19, we investigated tobacco use and sociodemographic correlates in 33,991 students (mean age 14.8 ± 1.9 years) in Hong Kong. Tobacco use prevalence and current-ever use ratios by sociodemographic factors were calculated. Generalised linear mixed models were used in association analyses. Current use was highest for cigarettes (3.2%), closely followed by alternative tobacco products (3.0%). Current-ever use ratios were highest for heated tobacco products (HTPs, 0.60), followed by nicotine e-cigarettes (0.52), waterpipe (0.51), and cigarettes (0.35). Use prevalence and current-ever use ratios of all products showed curvilinear relations with perceived family affluence (P values < 0.01), being highest in the richest families. Tobacco use was also associated with more senior grades, the lowest parental education, and boys, but current-ever use ratios of HTPs and waterpipe were higher in girls (P values < 0.05). The results suggested that adolescent ever users of nicotine-containing alternative tobacco products were more likely to keep using them than cigarettes, and the richest adolescents were at the highest risks of tobacco use. Diverse tobacco control measures are needed to improve health equity, especially on alternative tobacco products.

Who are the young users of tobacco products? Prevalence and characteristics of Danish adolescents who have either smoked cigarettes, used alternative tobacco products, or used both

Aims: We examined characteristics (smoking in social relations, binge drinking, and well-being measures) of Danish 13-year-olds in relation to their tobacco use patterns. Ever use of cigarettes exclusively, ever use of alternative tobacco products (ATPs; e-cigarettes, snus, or waterpipe) exclusively, and use of both cigarettes and ATPs were studied. Methods: We used self-reported data from students at 46 Danish schools in 2017 comprising 2,307 students (response rate = 86%). Multi-level logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between student characteristics and the odds for having ever used any tobacco products, smoked cigarettes exclusively, used ATPs exclusively, or used both cigarettes and ATPs compared with never use of any tobacco products. Unadjusted estimates and estimates adjusted for gender were reported. Results: A significant minority of youth (13.2%) had used one or more tobacco products. Of these, 2.0% had exclusively smoked cigarettes, 7.2% had exclusively used ATPs, and 4.0% had used both. Findings showed that all included characteristics (families’ and friends’ smoking, binge drinking, and well-being characteristics) were associated with using any tobacco product; however, students with friends who smoked, had been binge drinking, and had low well-being at home had notably higher odds for having both smoked cigarettes and used ATPs compared to the other tobacco use patterns. Conclusion: ATPs were popular among Danish adolescents compared with conventional cigarettes. Thus, prevention efforts among adolescents should not merely focus on the health risks of conventional cigarette smoking but also on ATPs. Students with diverse tobacco use patterns were similar on various characteristics. However, findings indicate that adolescents who had used both conventional cigarettes and ATPs constitute a more risk-averse group in special need of prevention efforts. Gender did not markedly influence the results. These findings may help future strategies aiming at the youngest adolescents at risk of using tobacco products.

Egészségbiztonsági kihívások a XXI. században – dohányipari befolyásolási technikák és a hevített dohánytermékekkel kapcsolatos aggodalmak

Összefoglaló. A dohányzás hazai viszonylatban és globálisan is óriási terheket ró a társadalomra, a gazdaságra és az egyénekre. A COVID–19 járványhelyzetben fontos kiemelni, hogy a jelenleg rendelkezésre álló tudásunk alapján a dohányzás is azon rizikótényezők közé tartozik, melyek növelik a súlyos lefolyású koronavírus-fertőzés kockázatát. Óriási mértékű lobbitevékenység veszi körül a dohányzás területét. A dohányipar a rendelkezésre álló és nyilvánvaló tudományos bizonyítékok ellenére is mindent elkövet annak érdekében, hogy nehezítse a dohányzás leküzdését célzó népegészségügyi intézkedések és törekvések bevezetését és végrehajtását. A dohányipar már a 20. század közepétől kísérletezik alternatív dohánytermékek kifejlesztésével, amellyel ellensúlyozhatja a klasszikus dohánytermékek fogyasztásának visszaesését. Különböző taktikai megoldásokkal, folyamatos innovációval és új típusú dohánytermékek piacra dobásával (pl. hevített) a dohányipar próbálja a hagyományos dohánytermékek csökkenéséből eredő problémáit ellensúlyozni, valamint – a fogyasztókat, döntéshozókat gyakran megtévesztve – a piacukat és az addikciót meg-, illetve fenntartani. Tanulmányunk célja a dohányipari befolyásolási technikákkal összefüggő legfrissebb információk áttekintése mellett a hevített dohánytermékekkel kapcsolatban elérhető tudományos bizonyítékok összefoglalása, valamint a COVID–19 és a dohányzás közötti kapcsolat ismertetése. Jelen áttekintés a PubMed adatbázisban elérhető publikációkon, valamint hazai és nemzetközi tudományos intézetek honlapján közölt összefoglalókon és felméréseken alapul. Summary. Smoking causes a huge burden on society, economy and individuals, both domestically and globally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to highlight that, to the best of our current knowledge, smoking is also one of the risk factors that increases the risk of severe coronavirus infection. There are enormous lobbying efforts surrounding the tobacco area. Despite the available and clear scientific evidence, the tobacco industry is doing its utmost to make it more difficult to introduce and implement public health measures and efforts to combat smoking. The tobacco industry has been experimenting with the development of alternative tobacco products since the mid-20th century to offset the decline in consumption of classic tobacco products. Therefore, by using different tactics, the tobacco industry applies continuous innovation and launches new types of tobacco products (e.g. heated), to countervail its problems arising from the decrease of traditional tobacco products, to retain their markets, and to maintain addiction by often misleading consumers and decision-makers. The aims of our study are to review the most recent knowledge about the tobacco industry interference, to summarize available scientific evidence related to heated tobacco products, and to present the current association between COVID-19 and smoking. This review summarizes the existing knowledge based on publications in the PubMed database and on reviews and research data published by national and international scientific institutions.

Student Tobacco Use Behaviours: A Qualitative Study of Alternative Tobacco and Nicotine Product Use in Young Adulthood

Non-combustible alternative tobacco products such as tobacco-free nicotine pouches, heated tobacco, and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) marketed as less harmful alternatives to cigarettes as smoking cessation aids are becoming increasingly popular among adolescents and young adults. This age group includes individuals still experimenting with and establishing tobacco use. The aim of the study is to investigate student tobacco use behaviours, particularly novel devices, and alternative products to understand how to decrease tobacco initiation and use among adolescents and young adults. In August 2020, two focus group discussions were organized to obtain information on young people's experience of alternative tobacco and nicotine product use. In each of them, high school students (aged over 18) and students took part. The participants of the focus group discussion were chosen by the “snowball” method. Cessation of smoking and replacing cigarettes with alternative tobacco and nicotine products reduce some of the harmful effects but are not harmless and nicotine addiction remains. By replacing cigarette smoking with the use of tobacco-free nicotine pouches, heated tobacco, or e-cigarettes, one form of nicotine use is being replaced by another. According to the study, young people have no understanding of nicotine addiction and the health risks of using alternative tobacco products. Today's adolescents and young adults often see consumption of tobacco and nicotine products as a mean to construct and project their unique identity.

E-Cigarette Use among Current Smokers Experiencing Homelessness

Two-thirds of cigarette smokers experiencing homelessness report using alternative tobacco products, including blunts, cigarillos (little cigars) or roll-your-own tobacco or electronic nicotine delivery systems such as e-cigarettes. We examined attitudes toward e-cigarette use and explored whether e-cigarette use patterns were associated with past-year cigarette quit attempts among current smokers experiencing homelessness. Among the 470 current cigarette smokers recruited from homeless service sites in San Francisco, 22.1% (n = 65) reported the use of e-cigarettes in the past 30 days (‘dual users’). Compared to cigarette-only smokers, dual users considered e-cigarettes to be safer than cigarettes. Patterns of e-cigarette use, including the number of times used per day, duration of use during the day, manner of use and nicotine concentration were not associated with past-year cigarette quit attempts. Studies that examine the motivations for use of e-cigarettes, particularly for their use as smoking cessation aids, could inform interventions for tobacco use among people experiencing homelessness.

Use patterns of cigarettes and alternative tobacco products and socioeconomic correlates in Hong Kong adolescents

Smoking is a major cause of health inequities. However, sociodemographic differences in adolescent tobacco use are unclear, especially for new tobacco products. We investigated tobacco use patterns and sociodemographic correlates in Hong Kong adolescents. In a territory-wide school-based survey, 33 991 students (US grade 7–12) completed an anonymous questionnaire. Tobacco use prevalences and current-ever use ratios by sociodemographic factors were calculated. Generalised linear mixed models were used in association analyses. Current use was highest for cigarettes (3.19%), closely followed by alternative tobacco products (2.96%). Current-ever use ratios were highest for heated tobacco products (HTPs, 0.60), followed by nicotine-containing e-cigarettes (0.52), waterpipe (0.51) and cigarettes (0.35). Student use prevalences and current-ever use ratios of all products showed J-shaped relations with family affluence, being highest in the richest families. Tobacco use was also associated with higher grades, the lowest parental education and boys, but current-ever use ratios of HTP and waterpipe were higher in girls. The results suggested that adolescent ever users of nicotine-containing alternative products were more likely to keep using them than cigarettes, and the richest adolescents were at the highest risks of tobacco use. Diverse tobacco control measures are needed to improve health equity, especially on alternative products.

Country Participation in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Health Warnings Database

Background The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Health Warnings Database is an online, publicly available resource created for countries to upload and share pictorial health warnings for tobacco packaging. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which the database is used by countries for the sharing of pictorial warnings. Methods The study’s sample included parties to the FCTC who required graphic health warning labels on cigarette packaging from. Those countries were categorized as having a low, middle, and high Socio-Demographic Index (SDI). The Health Warnings Database was then analyzed for those countries’ unique pictorial images, as well as the number of pictorials that were shared between countries. Results Of the 110 countries that required pictorial warnings on cigarette packaging, only 53 (48%) voluntarily contributed pictorials to the database, with most of those (53%) being high SDI-level countries. There were 342 unique pictorials on the database, with 62 images posted by seven countries that were used by 13 other countries. Conclusion While sharing was evident from the database, there remains a need for more countries to upload the pictorials to the database. There is also a need to expand the database to include alternative tobacco products, such as waterpipe tobacco and e-cigarettes.