Using a combination of different nicotine products may lead to increased nicotine dependence in young people and higher mortality rates in adults, as compared to using just one product. Researchers at Yale have identified factors that contribute to adolescents using multiple nicotine products. These findings will assist in efforts to prevent young people from escalating their use from a single product to multiple products.
Using a combination of different nicotine products may lead to increased nicotine dependence in young people and higher mortality rates in adults, as compared to using just one product. Yale researchers have now uncove rnrn
Adolescents are using multiple nicotine products for various reasons, according to recent findings. These discoveries can provide valuable information for efforts aimed at preventing the transition from using a single product to using multiple ones. The results of the study were published on April 24 in the journal Preventative Medicine.
Despite the widespread awareness campaigns about the dangers of smoking and vaping, the ever-expanding range of nicotine products, the increasing popularity of e-cigarettes, and the growing trend of using multiple products among young people may require updated prevention strategies, according to Patricia Simon, an assistant professor.”Using nicotine products has several health effects and using multiple products can have even more negative consequences, such as higher nicotine addiction, lower motivation to quit, and increased risk of death,” stated Simon, the lead author of the study and a professor in the department of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine (YSM). “One of the challenges we face now is figuring out how to prevent young people from transitioning from using one product to using multiple products. We need to understand what factors contribute to this progression in order to create effective interventions.”
To conduct the study, Simon and her team analyzed data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study.The PATH study is a long-term examination of tobacco use in the United States, which started in 2013 and is funded and overseen by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The researchers studied data from more than 10,000 people who joined the study when they were between 12 and 17 years old. They completed assessments in 2013 and 2014 (Wave 1) and again in 2017 and 2018 (Wave 4).
During Wave 4, nearly 11% of the participants reported using multiple nicotine products, while over 13% reported using only one product, and just over 76% said they had not used any nicotine products.The researchers discovered that cigarettes were the most commonly used nicotine product, followed by e-cigarettes, cigars, hookah, and smokeless tobacco among individuals in the previous 30 days. Ralitza Gueorguieva, a senior research scientist in the Department of Biostatistics at Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) and coauthor of the study, stated that various personal, familial, and environmental factors contributed to nicotine product use and multiple product use. Additionally, those who reported using nicotine products in Wave 4 of the study reported experiencing more problems with sleep, anxiety, or feelings.The researchers compared individuals who used more than one nicotine product with those who used only one product. They found that the multiple product users were more likely to be male and in the older 15- to 17-year-old age group. They were also more likely to have reported using a nicotine product at the start of the study. Additionally, those who used multiple products were less likely to have talked to their parents or guardians about not using tobacco and more likely to have seen tobacco product advertisements at the beginning of the study. When asked to rate the harm from using different nicotine products, the multiple product users rated the harm lower.
Those who utilized multiple nicotine products were given lower risk ratings than those who only used one product.
Elina Stefanovics, a research scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at YSM and coauthor of the study, stated, “This more detailed understanding of adolescent nicotine use allows us to distinguish between those who use a single product and those who use multiple products, providing an important new perspective.”
Regulators should take these findings into account when aligning policies with current usage patterns, clinicians should consider them when advising parents on risk and protective factors, and prevention scientists should use them to develop targeted programs based on specific risk factors for youth.The researchers stated that the study provides important evidence that will be helpful in creating interventions to prevent young people from starting or increasing their use of nicotine products. Eugenia Buta, a research scientist at the Yale Center for Analytical Sciences at YSPH and coauthor of the study, emphasized the significance of understanding these factors in order to develop more effective public health strategies and regulatory policies. Shiyao Ying at YSPH and Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin at YSM also contributed as coauthors of the study. The research findings were reported in this publication.This work received funding from grant number U54DA036151 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Center for Tobacco Products, part of the FDA. Additionally, support was provided by the National Cancer Institute, NIH grant R03 CA245991 and NIDA grant L40 DA042454. The views expressed in the content are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the Food and Drug Administration.
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