Leah Ranney, Director of Tobacco Prevention and Evaluation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill/ChannelNewsAsia
While traditional cigarette smoking habits among youth and young adults in the US are declining, the use of e-cigarettes appeals strongly to this age group, says one observer.An upsurge in e-cigarette use among middle and high school students in the United States occurred nationally between 2011 and 2018, with nearly 21 of every 100 high school students surveyed reporting e-cigarette use in the past 30 days, according to data from experts at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This trend is not by chance. Tobacco companies have spent billions of dollars annually on tobacco product advertisement, according to a Federal Trade Commission report, and have used appealing packaging, culturally tailored brand names and advertisements that appear to target specific minorities and youth.
The colourful packaging and other strategies employed by the industry contribute to lower harm perceptions of these products and higher susceptibility to use among young people, according to researchers at the Centre for Global Tobacco Control, Harvard School of Public Health and recent research on cigarillo packaging I conducted with my research team.
The FDA has announced efforts to impose restrictions on flavoured e-cigarettes and tobacco products. The FDA recognises the high rates of e-cigarette use among young people as a public health concern, and sees the urgent need for stricter product access.
FLAVOURS CHANGE PERCEPTION OF RISK
Using a survey of young adults aged 18 to 26 recruited through an online crowd-sourcing tool, researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine found that cigarillo pack flavour descriptors, such as grape and sweet, and colours such as pink and purple resulted in more favourable product perceptions among young adults. These pack attributes had a greater impact on how people who had never used cigarillos perceived product flavour and taste, compared to current cigarillo users, and people who have previously used them.Findings published in Tobacco Control suggested that flavoured tobacco products have a strong appeal to youth and young adults because of the variety and availability of flavours; that flavours are a reason for use; and that flavours play a primary role in the use of e-cigarettes, little cigars and cigarillos, and hookah among younger people.
IMPORTANCE OF FLAVOURS IN PRODUCT USE
Research and survey data have shown that tobacco habits in this age group are changing. Youth cigarette smoking rates have declined substantially in recent years, with the National Youth Tobacco Survey showing current use of cigarettes declining from 15.8 per cent in 2011 to 7.6 per cent in 2017 among high school students, according to data from experts at the CDC and FDA. Meanwhile, e-cigarettes were the most commonly used product in that population in both middle and high school students in the survey data.While traditional cigarette smoking has declined, patterns of dual (that is, use of two or more tobacco products in 30 days) and poly tobacco use (or the use of three or more tobacco products in 30 days) have emerged. In 2013, in a survey of North Carolina high school students, almost 30 per cent reported use of any tobacco product, according to a study from our team published in 2015 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
PREVENTING YOUTH TOBACCO USE
We know that adolescents and teenagers are very vulnerable to the influence of tobacco marketing.
The use of appealing packages and flavours has a significant impact on young people, causing them to perceive these tobacco products as less harmful and, in turn, making them more likely to experiment and continue using tobacco products. As research on the impact of flavoured tobacco products builds, I look forward to increased action to help prevent youth tobacco use.