Leader: David Hammond, PhD, University of Waterloo

Youth and young adulthood are critical periods for tobacco use. For most of the past two decades, smoking has steadily declined among young people in the US and other Western countries, including Canada and England. However, as our current Project has demonstrated, NVPs have experienced rapid growth and are now the most prevalent nicotine product used by youth and young adults. The nicotine market is poised to diversify further with the emergence of HTPs and novel oral nicotine products. The long-term public health implications of the growth of NVPs, HTPs, and other tobacco products is uncertain. The extent to which these novel products appeal to young people and follow a similar trajectory as NVPs represents a critical question which is the focus of our proposed project.

Project 2 has three Specific Aims: 1) to examine international variations in smoking, NVP, and HTP use among young people; 2) to examine the impact of national-level policies on prevalence and patterns of smoking and vaping among young people; and 3) to examine the relative impact of policies on youth versus adult smokers (Shared with Project 1’s adult survey project). The study methods include repeated cross-sectional surveys conducted annually with national samples of youth and young adults (aged 16-29) in the US, Canada, and England. The same methods and measures are used in all three countries to provide directly comparable estimates over time. The study will expand the current focus of the ITC Youth surveys to include young adults (20-29) and will build on the four annual surveys waves conducted between 2017 and 2020.

Technical Reports and Dissemination Products:

Please visit: https://davidhammond.ca/projects/e-cigarettes/itc-youth-tobacco-ecig/