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Introduction
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Publications
Publications (464)
The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) has been extensively validated using Classical Test Theory, mostly relying on factor analytic methods among adult samples. The current study used Item Response Theory to validate SWLS among a sample of early adolescents in California and examine associations between SWLS and tobacco and cannabis use. Data wer...
Background
Tobacco retailer density might influence youth e-cigarette use due to increased access and exposure to point-of-sale marketing. There is a need for longitudinal investigations on the association of tobacco retailer density with youth e-cigarette use, with consideration of contextual factors such as neighbourhood walkability that could en...
Tobacco use is the leading cause of death globally and in the U.S. After decades of decline, driven by decreases in combusted tobacco use, nicotine product use has increased due to Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), also known as e-cigarettes or vapes. Preclinical models of nicotine self-administration can serve as important lodestars in...
Introduction
This study applied a novel tobacco regulatory science paradigm to characterize inter-product variation in the appeal and sensory features of emerging commercial and therapeutic oral nicotine products (ONPs) among young adults that vape e-cigarettes.
Methods
Twenty-three young adults without ONP experience who use e-cigarettes complete...
Background and aims
Young adult cannabis use is common; while cannabis is often marketed as a product that can improve sleep, evidence supporting these claims is limited, and effects may differ for individuals with underlying mental health issues. This study measured the association between cannabis use and sleep problems among young adults and det...
Significance
E-cigarettes with candy-themed marketing are implicated in decisions to first try e-cigarettes but have unknown effects on the experience of vaping. We compared adults’ perceived appeal and sensory attributes after self-administering flavoured e-cigarettes in experimentally manipulated packaging with candy-themed versus standard market...
To inform regulatory policy, this article summarises findings on inhalation facilitation from the ninth report of the WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation. Some additives counteract the harshness and bitterness of tobacco and nicotine product aerosols, making them easier to inhale. Additives that promote inhalability may perpetuate and inc...
Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) increase with age during childhood and adolescence, and subthreshold OCS in childhood associate with a higher probability of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) diagnosis in adulthood. Additionally, average age of onset for OCD is in adolescence, with the majority of OCD cases emerging by early adulthood. Despite...
E-cigarettes with ice flavors, which are products with a cooling agent added to a characterizing flavor (e.g., grape-ice), are widely sold. Whether ice flavors appeal to only those who already use them or a to wider population is not widely understood. This secondary analysis of a clinical laboratory experiment tested effects of experimental exposu...
Background
We tested whether snus marketing with modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) claims: (a) promotes accurate knowledge about snus’s health effects in young adults and (b) encourages use intentions in only those who use combustible tobacco without attracting other young adult populations.
Methods
A randomised between-subjects experiment was...
The extent to which vaping influences depression is unclear, but could be estimated through application of novel epidemiologic methods. Among a prospective cohort of young adults from California who screened negative for depression, we estimated repeated measures marginal structural models to examine the association of four vaping transitions from...
This cross-sectional study uses data from the 2022 Tobacco Use Supplement of the Current Population Survey to estimate the prevalence of adult US nicotine pouch use and the characteristics of the individuals using pouches.
Intranasal oxytocin (INOT) has received attention as a treatment for substance use disorders including tobacco dependence. However, it is unclear whether INOT-related effects differ by sex and social functioning traits. This study examined the influence of sex and two trait social functioning measures (hostility and rejection sensitivity) on INOT e...
Importance
Gummies, flavored vaping devices, and other cannabis products containing psychoactive hemp-derived Δ ⁸ -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are increasingly marketed in the US with claims of being federally legal and comparable to marijuana. National data on prevalence and correlates of Δ ⁸ -THC use and comparisons to marijuana use among adolesce...
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Disposable electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are widely used by adolescents and young adults (AYAs). Whether using disposable devices is associated with future e-cigarette use patterns is unknown but important for informing e-cigarette regulation.
METHODS
Prospective longitudinal study combining data from adolescent (1...
Objective
Synthetic nicotine (SN) e-cigarettes emerged on the market as an alternative to tobacco-derived nicotine (TDN) vaping products. It is critical to understand the harm perceptions, purchase, and use of SN vs. TDN e-cigarettes.
Methods
From November 2021 to February 2023, we conducted intercept interviews with 263 adult customers at 37 vape...
Background
Detailed estimates of disparities in cigarette smoking across single- and multi-race groups and their intersections with ethnicity are lacking. This study estimates the prevalence of self-reported current smoking among intersecting adult race-ethnicity groups in the United States.
Methods
The analysis uses 2018-2019 data from the Tobacc...
Background: Recent research has shown obesity to be associated with e-cigarette use and appeal, but models have yet to examine how weight status may be related to e-cigarette dependence among e-cigarette users. Objectives: To increase our understanding of pathways from body mass index (BMI) to e-cigarette dependence, the present cross-sectional obs...
Background
Availability of flavours and potential modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) claims may influence young adults’ (YAs’) perceptions of and intentions to use nicotine pouches (‘pouches’).
Methods
YAs aged 21–34 years (N=47, M age =24.5, SD =3.1) with past-month nicotine/tobacco use (10.6% cigarette-only, 51.1% e-cigarette-only, 38.3% dual...
Screening novel medications for alcohol use disorder (AUD) requires models that are both efficient and ecologically-valid. Ideally, such models would be associated with the outcomes of a given medication in clinical trials.
To test a novel human laboratory model in which individuals with intrinsic motivation to change their drinking engage in a “pr...
This cross-sectional study of young adults examined associations of hangover remedy use with alcohol use problems. Results suggest that ever-use of hangover remedy products was positively associated with alcohol use problem score, drinks per typical drinking day, and alcohol use disorder symptom count. Use of hangover remedies among young adults me...
Background
This clinical experiment tested the effects of exposure to e-cigarettes with WS-23 or menthol cooling additives on user appeal and sensory attributes, and, secondarily, whether WS-23 effects generalised across base characterising flavour, nicotine concentration, or nicotine/tobacco product use status.
Methods
In this within-participant...
Objective
After remaining stable for many years, the prevalence of depression among adolescents increased over the past decade, particularly among girls. In this study, we used longitudinal data from a cohort of high school students to characterize sex-specific trajectories of depressive symptoms during this period of increasing prevalence and wide...
Examine if concerns for police brutality, societal discrimination, and school shootings relate to subsequent cigarette and cannabis use among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White (NHW) youth. Hispanic youth may be particularly vulnerable to such concern.
Data are from the University of Southern California’s Happiness and Health Survey, a prospective coh...
Background and aims:
It is unknown whether young adults who vape nicotine and have poor mental health have greater risk of smoking initiation than expected based on individual risks of vaping and mental health alone. This study aimed to estimate the joint association of vaping and mental health symptoms with smoking initiation among young adults,...
Background
Little is known about health-focused cannabis use purposes and their associations with risk for problematic cannabis use. This cross-sectional study examined three broad cannabis use purposes and association with risk for problematic use among young adult cannabis users who report using for > 1 health reasons.
Methods
Young adults compl...
Rationale
Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) aerosol contains volatile aldehydes, including flavourings and oxidant metals with known pulmonary toxicity.
Objectives
To evaluate the associations of e-cigarette use with symptoms of wheeze, bronchitic symptoms and shortness of breath (SOB) across 4 years of prospective data.
Methods
Participants com...
High smoking prevalence and low quit smoking rates among African American adults are well-documented, but poorly understood. We tested a transdisciplinary theoretical model of psychopharmacological–social mechanisms underlying smoking among African American adults. This model proposes that nicotine’s acute attention-filtering effects may enhance sm...
In book 1 of this 3-part series, we are pleased to present an extensive collection of adolescent health articles that address the diverse needs of the adolescent and young adult population as it relates to preventative health. Through a wide variety of research, we have come to a greater, more informed understanding of the vast needs of this dynami...
Introduction
In December 2022, California (CA) enforced a voter-approved regulation restricting the retail sale of flavoured tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. Shortly after, new products emerged on the market containing similar blue and green package colours yet with ‘non-menthol’ descriptors. Using chemical analyses, we measured the...
Background:
Prior studies report nicotine/tobacco use disparities for sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth, but have insufficiently characterized SGM identity diversity.
Methods:
Adolescents (mean age=15.2) from 11 high schools in Southern California completed surveys in Fall 2021. Ever use of combustible (cigarettes, cigars, hookah) and nonco...
Though anxiety sensitivity (AS)—fear of anxiety-related experiences—is primarily tied to anxiety vulnerability, AS has also been prospectively associated with general negative affect and depression. Furthermore, depression has been longitudinally associated with different forms of substance use, and some AS subfactors (e.g., cognitive concerns) hav...
Despite being a major threat to health, vaccine hesitancy (i.e., refusal or reluctance to vaccinate despite vaccine availability) is on the rise. Using a longitudinal cohort of young adults (N = 1260) from Los Angeles County, California we investigated the neurobehavioral mechanisms underlying COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Data were collected at two...
Introduction
E-cigarette and cannabis use by adolescents are risk factors for smoking initiation. We hypothesised that increasingly common dual use of e-cigarette and cannabis in adolescence leads to more frequent cigarette smoking in young adulthood.
Methods
Data are from a prospective cohort study in Southern California, where 1164 participants...
Rationale:
Specific cannabis products may differentially increase risk of initiating non-cannabis illicit drug use during adolescence.
Objective:
To determine whether ever- and poly-use of smoked, vaporized, edible, concentrate, or blunt cannabis products are associated with subsequent initiation of non-cannabis illicit drug use.
Methods:
High...
Background:
Characterizing the appeal of flavored e-cigarette solutions by tobacco product use status can inform regulations to reduce vaping in those who never smoked without discouraging adopting e-cigarettes as a quit-smoking aid.
Methods:
Adults aged 21+ who currently use tobacco products (N = 119) self-administered standardized puffs of eig...
This cross-sectional study examines differences by race and ethnicity and education in smoking prevalence and age of smoking initiation among young adults in the US between 2002 and 2019.
Objective
To estimate the extent to which drinking to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing pandemic-related life stressors are associated with alcohol use escalation among young adults.
Methods
Respondents in Los Angeles, CA, USA (N = 2,130) completed prospective cohort study surveys before (baseline; October 2018–November 2019; mean a...
Background:
African Americans who smoke cigarettes and experience heightened anxiety symptoms may have low quit smoking rates. Identifying which particular barriers to cessation are associated with specific types of anxiety symptoms in African Americans could inform cessation treatments for this population. This cross-sectional, correlational stud...
Introduction:
Cannabis use in the U.S. rose early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is unclear whether that rise was temporary or permanent. This study estimated the nature and sociodemographic correlates of U.S. adult subpopulations regularly using cannabis by examining weekly trajectories of use during the first year of the pandemic.
Methods:
D...
Objectives
Various organic acids are used to create nicotine salt formulations, which may improve the appeal and sensory experience of vaping electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). This clinical experiment examined the effects of partially and highly protonated forms of two nicotine salt formulations (nicotine lactate and benzoate) versus free-base...
Objective
Obtaining ecologically valid biological samples is critical for understanding respiratory effects of tobacco use, but can be burdensome. In two diverse samples, we examined feasibility and acceptability of studying pulmonary function and respiratory health entirely remotely.
Design
Observational feasibility and acceptability study.
Sett...
Purpose
New oral nicotine products (ONPs), often advertised as “tobacco-free” (i.e., pouches, gum, lozenges, gummies), come in nontobacco flavors appealing to adolescents. It is unknown how adolescent willingness to use ONPs differs by product type and flavor, and whether sociodemographic disparities exist.
Methods
Adolescent never tobacco product...
Non-therapeutic, novel oral nicotine products are convenient, discreet to use, and flavored, with increasing sales in the United States. It is unclear whether these products appeal predominantly to adolescents already susceptible to inhalable nicotine products, or whether they attract adolescents who would not otherwise use nicotine. This study exa...
Body dissatisfaction is a key predictor of binge eating, yet less is known about factors that may potentiate the association between body dissatisfaction and binge eating. This study examined self-reported dietary restraint and sweet taste reward sensitivity as candidate moderators of the association between body dissatisfaction and binge eating in...
This study assesses temporal trends of biomarkers among adult nicotine and nonnicotine e-cigarette users and cigarette smokers.
Background:
Rates of e-cigarette use among adolescents and young adults (AYA) remain high despite several federal policy changes intended to limit their availability and appeal. The current study examined how restricting flavors would impact current AYA users' intentions to discontinue vaping, as a function of their current flavor preference.
Met...
This Viewpoint discusses a federal policy loophole that allows psychotropic cannabis products to be commercially marketed and sold across the US, even in states where recreational cannabis is not legal.
Introduction
Snus, dissolvable, and traditional smokeless tobacco product use is often amalgamated in youth epidemiologic research despite differences across these products. Prevalence, trends, and correlates of U.S. youth use across different classes of oral tobacco products are unknown.
Methods
Using 2011–2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey (N=19...
E-cigarette use increased from 2017 to 2019 and then declined in 2020 among U.S. adults. It is important to understand whether the decline differed by smoking status and sociodemographic groups and whether daily e-cigarette use has subsequently changed. This study estimated e-cigarette use prevalence in 2019 and 2020 by analyzing the pooled Nationa...
Researchers are currently debating whether theories of addiction explain compulsive overeating of highly processed (HP) foods (i.e., industrially created foods high in refined carbohydrates and/or fat), which contributes to obesity and diet‐related disease. A subset of individuals consumes HP foods with behavioral phenotypes that mirror substance u...
E-cigarettes may help combustible cigarette smokers switch to a less harmful alternative, or may increase the risk of subsequent initiation of cigarettes among non-smokers. Among youth, it is not clear whether both pathways occur equally, or whether one direction is more likely than the other. We used data from a prospective cohort study of youth i...
New oral nicotine products (ONPs; nicotine pouches, gums, lozenges, and gummies), which are regulated as nonmedicinal tobacco products in the U.S., have flavors and other characteristics that previously attracted young adults to e-cigarettes. Whether young adults’ interest in ONPs differs by e-cigarette use status and quit-vaping motivation is unkn...
Objective
Treatment seeking for smoking cessation has tremendous clinical implications with the potential to reduce tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. The present study seeks to elucidate clinical variables that distinguish treatment seeking versus non-treatment seeking status for smoking cessation in a large sample of heavy drinking smokers...
Disease from nicotine dependency continues to be a leading cause of preventable death worldwide, and therefore research that elucidates potential correlates of tobacco use may facilitate the advancement of research, clinical practice, and policy in this area to target this public health challenge. One potential tobacco use correlate is obsessive-co...
Modern oral nicotine products (ONPs; nontherapeutic nicotine pouches, gums, lozenges, and gummies) may be perceived in ways that could promote uptake in nonvapers, dual use with e-cigarettes, or use to quit vaping. In this cross-sectional digital remote survey of 1,460 respondents aged 21-24 from Southern California, we examined beliefs about ONPs...
The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound mental and behavioral health implications for the general U.S. population. However, little is known regarding outcomes for U.S. veterans, who represent a population with high rates of depression, stress, and e-cigarette use. One month prior to the pandemic-related closures (February 2020), 1230 OEF/OIF veteran...
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Flavored non-tobacco oral nicotine products (eg, nicotine pouches and nontherapeutic nicotine gum, lozenges, tablets, gummies), are increasingly marketed in the United States. Prevalence of non-tobacco oral nicotine product use among adolescents is unknown.
METHODS
We calculated prevalence of ever and past 6-month use of...
Aims:
To estimate the association of longitudinal patterns of e-cigarette use with cigarette smoking abstinence, after accounting for time-dependent confounding and selection bias.
Design:
Secondary analysis of longitudinal national cohort data. Using marginal structural models and four waves of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (w...
Background
While there is some evidence and conceptual plausibility that tobacco product use is associated with hypertension incidence and that this association varies by sex, extant longitudinal research had been conducted prior to the emergence of e-cigarette and dual e-cigarette and cigarette use.
Methods
Data were analyzed from the US Populati...
Introduction:
Some adolescents report using e-cigarettes (EC) for weight-related reasons, but longitudinal studies are lacking. This study examined associations between tobacco weight control beliefs and body mass index (BMI) with EC use patterns over one year.
Methods:
Data from Waves 1 and 2 (September 2013 to October 2015) of the Population A...
Use of flavored tobacco has been associated with lower likelihood of short-term abstinence from tobacco. It is unknown whether longer-term associations exist, particularly for a variety of products and specific flavor categories.
Using adult survey data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study (2013–2018), we tested associa...
Introduction
In observational studies, vaping daily is positively associated with cigarette smoking abstinence, while non-daily vaping is associated with less smoking abstinence (versus no e-cigarette use). It remains unknown whether cigarette smokers who vape daily have different motivations for using e-cigarettes than those who vape non-daily.
M...
This study characterized the prevalence, sociodemographic characteristics, and behavioral health of U.S. adult subpopulations with distinct drug use trajectories during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Adult respondents (n = 8306) in a nationally-representative longitudinal study completed 13 monthly web surveys (March 2020–March 2021). Fre...
Background
It is unknown whether increasing attention to police brutality is a source of stress associated with substance use risk among young people.
Methods
A longitudinal racially/ethnically diverse cohort from Los Angeles, California (n=1,797) completed baseline (2017; mean age: 17.9) and follow-up (2020; mean age: 21.2) surveys assessing leve...
Background: The packaging and marketing of nicotine gums, lozenges, and pouches can influence users' perceptions about which products are evidence-based for tobacco cessation and which are designed for nicotine maintenance-which could keep people nicotine dependent. Lucy, a company that produces flavored nicotine gums, lozenges, and pouches, could...
Background
This study characterized the prevalence, drinking patterns, and sociodemographic characteristics of U.S. adult subpopulations with distinct drinking trajectories during the COVID‐19 pandemic's first 42 weeks.
Methods
Adult respondents (n = 8130) in a nationally representative prospective longitudinal study completed 21 biweekly web surv...
COVID-19 vaccines have been available for over a year, yet 26% of U.S. young adults remain unvaccinated. This study examines racial and ethnic disparities in young adult vaccine hesitancy and attitudes/beliefs that mediate disparities in vaccine hesitancy. Young adults (n = 2041;Mean[SD]:21.3[0.7] years-old) from a Los Angeles, CA, USA cohort were...
Recognized challenges in promoting long-term physical activity maintenance may be due to inconsistencies in the conceptualization and operationalization of behavior maintenance terminology in physical activity research. The overall goal of this paper is to propose a framework and agenda for the development of a common set of terms, definitions, and...
E-cigarettes with cooling flavours have diversified in ways that complicate tobacco control with the emergence of: (1) Ice-hybrid flavours (eg, 'Raspberry Ice') that combine cooling and fruity/sweet properties; and (2) Products containing non-menthol synthetic cooling agents (eg, Wilkinson Sword (WS), WS-3, WS-23 (termed 'koolada')). This paper rev...
Scientists and regulators need parsimonious methods of characterizing flavored e-cigarettes which may vary widely in both chemical flavoring constituents and marketing descriptors. This laboratory experiment characterized user-reported appeal and experience of five cross-cutting sensory attributes (sweetness, bitterness, smoothness, harshness, cool...
Background
Adolescent misuse of prescription opioids is hazardous. This study aimed to generate data on prescription opioid misuse trajectories across adolescence and identify risk factors and mechanisms for more dangerous use trajectories.
Methods
Using a prospective longitudinal cohort repeated measures design, baseline (Fall 2013) and seven sem...
Oral nicotine pouches may appeal to young adult current nicotine/tobacco users interested in alternative forms of nicotine that lack pulmonary exposure, but may also appeal to young adult non-users of nicotine/tobacco products. We used data from a 2020 remote digital survey of an ongoing cohort study of young adults from Southern California (aged 1...
Background
Cannabis is obtained from a variety retail and illicit sources, with unknown implications for youth cannabis use. This study assessed whether source of obtaining cannabis was associated with future cannabis use among adolescents.
Methods
High-schoolers (N=835) completed 3 semiannual surveys, reporting use of 7 cannabis sources (i.e., fr...
Introduction
To understand whether using a certain e-cigarette device is more strongly associated with risk of combustible tobacco use among youth.
Methods
We conducted multivariable logistic regression analyses using cross-sectional data from 4 samples of youth in Connecticut and California (N=10,482; ages 13-24), separately for each study using...
Introduction
Perceived sensory attributes of e-cigarettes may associate with their appeal. However, limited studies have accounted for individuals’ variability in sensory attributes or have addressed how associations of sensory attributes with appeal may differ by gender.
Methods
Individuals (n = 119, 32.8% female) who currently used combustible c...
Introduction: Machine learning presents a unique opportunity to improve electronic cigarette (vaping) monitoring in youth. Here we built a random forest model to predict frequent vaping status among Californian youth and to identify contributing factors and vulnerable populations.
Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 1,281 ever-vaping twelfth...
