Youth Prevention

Research

Risk factors for adolescent smoking: Parental smoking and the mediating role of nicotine dependence
According to a recent study, parental smoking is associated with adolescent smoking frequency. Data gathered from the longitudinal Social and Emotional Contexts of Adolescent Smoking Patterns study were used to analyze the association between parental smoking and their children’s smoking frequency at the 48 month follow-up. Direct association and other mediating variables such as smoking frequency, smoking quantity, and nicotine dependence were included in the analysis. Parental smoking was found to be a risk factor for smoking among adolescents who smoked less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetimes, or “low-exposure” smokers, and was associated with early-onset nicotine dependence. Smoking cessation interventions and prevention for adolescent novice smokers should look at parental smoking status as a risk factor for chronic smoking behaviors. Click here to read the study abstract published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Awareness, perceptions and use of snus among young adults from the upper Midwest region of the U.S.A.
An examination into the awareness, perceptions, and use of snus, a smokeless tobacco product in the form of a porous packet of moist tobacco that is placed between the gum and cheek, was conducted among youth in the Midwest. This study, published in Tobacco Control, took data from 2,607 young adults between the age of 20 and 28 that participated in the Minnesota Adolescent Community Cohort Study in 2010-2011. The results showed that the majority of the participants were aware of snus (64.8%), 14.5% had ever used snus, and 17.3% believed that snus was less harmful than cigarettes. Based on the results of this study, interventions that target youth snus use need to utilize strategic health communication tactics to address the existing perceptions of and interest in snus. Click here to read the study abstract and full article.

Brains of teens who smoke cigarettes reveal early signs of addiction
Investigation into the brain responses to images of smoking among teen smokers find that the brains of adolescents who smoke about two cigarettes per day respond similarly to brains of adults who are heavy smokers. Using magnetic resonance imaging, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) examined which parts of the brain responded when teens were exposed to smoking imagery (someone holding a cigarette) versus neutral imagery (someone holding a pen). Teenagers who smoked less than five cigarettes per day were matched with nonsmokers in the analysis. In the smoking group, the parts of the brain that responded to smoking imagery were associated with pleasure, reward, and addiction. The nonsmokers’ brains displayed no differences between the smoking and neutral images. This study provides evidence that adolescent smokers are more likely to become lifelong smokers than those who start smoking later in life. Click here to read more about this study released by UCSF.

Smoker identity and smoking escalation among adolescents
New research reports that adolescent smokers who identified smoking as a defining aspect of themselves are more likely to smoke more frequently. During a two-year longitudinal study, over 1,200 adolescents in Chicago completed questionnaires and interviews regarding their smoking behavior, smoker identity, nicotine dependence, smoking expectancies, smoking motives, and novelty seeking. The researchers found that the more adolescents associated smoking with their self-identity, the more likely their smoking frequency was to increase. Based on these data, cessation programs created for adolescents should consider smoker identity as a factor in smoking behaviors. Click here to read more about this study published in Health Psychology.

Predictors of initiation of hookah tobacco smoking: A one-year prospective study of first-year college women
A new study published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors reports that one fourth of females with no previous hookah smoking experience before entering college engaged in hookah smoking during their first year at college. The researchers conducted a cohort study of 483 females (64% White) entering their first year of college, and assessed their hookah use prior to college. The participants then completed twelve monthly online surveys regarding their hookah use between September 2009 and August 2010. The majority, 343 of the participants, reported no pre-college hookah use, and 79 (23%) of them started hookah tobacco smoking during that first year of college. Alcohol use was associated with initiating hookah use, while impulsivity, social comparison orientation, and marijuana use were associated with the frequency of hookah use. The researchers suggest that future hookah use interventions and prevention strategies consider other forms of substance use in addition to hookah use. Click here for the study abstract.

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Reports

Current Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students—United States, 2011
A recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) addresses the changes in tobacco use among middle and high school students between 2000 and 2011. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data from the 2011 National Youth Tobacco Survey of students from 214 middle and high schools. According to the report, 30% of high school males and 18% of females used some form of tobacco. Overall, current tobacco use and current cigarette use prevalence decreased in 2011. However, during the time period of 2009-2011, no statistically significant declines were reported among middle school students. The CDC concluded that interventions have been effective in reducing tobacco use among youth and should be continued in the form of campaigns, tobacco product price increases, reducing underage access to tobacco products, and limiting tobacco advertisements. The CDC also recommends evidence-based strategies in conjunction with regulations by the Food and Drug Administration to fight youth tobacco use. Click here to read this report. Click here to read CTFK response to this MMWR.

Youth Activism in Tobacco Control: A Toolkit for Action
Legacy has released a new guide that aids in combating commercial tobacco use in schools and communities. This toolkit was designed as a tool for youth and young adult activists to use in their schools and communities to help combat tobacco use. It contains information about the tobacco industry, how youth are marketed by the industry, and how to combat these tactics. Click here to access this toolkit.

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International

Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2011 (England)
According to England’s National Health Service (NHS), the number of young people in England that regularly smoke has decreased to record lows. The NHS reports that the prevalence of regular smoking (at least once a week) among youth ages 11 to 15, currently at 5%, is less than half of what was reported in the mid-1990s. The reduction in smoking can be explained by a shift to negative attitudes toward smoking as a result of several programs and policies that address youth and smoking. England’s tobacco control priorities include stopping the promotion of tobacco; making tobacco less affordable; effective regulation of tobacco products; helping tobacco users quit; reducing exposure to second-hand smoke; and effective communications for tobacco control. Click here to read a summary of the report. Click here to access the full report.

Plain packaging of cigarettes encourages young smokers to heed health warnings (United Kingdom)
Research published in the journal Addiction finds that plain packaging of cigarettes may deter adolescents from smoking. In this study, eighty-seven high school students in the U.K. were asked to view images of cigarette packs on a computer screen while a device tracked their eye movements. The packages viewed were a combination of plain (containing brand name only in plain print and standard health warning image), and the current standard, colorful packs by popular brands that contain the same health warnings as the plain packs. Results showed that nonsmokers looked at both health warnings the same while daily smokers avoided looking at the health warnings. Occasional or light smokers noticed the health warnings on the plain packages more than the standard ones. Smokers were more attracted to the health warnings on the plain packages which may cause them to reconsider their smoking behaviors. Legislation that requires plain packaging of cigarettes as in Australia could be beneficial in deterring youth from smoking. Click here to read more. Click here to read the study abstract.

The effect of cigarette branding and plain packaging on female youth in the United Kingdom (United Kingdom)
Among females in the UK, cigarettes in plain packaging were rated as less appealing and worse tasting than branded packs. A new study administered an online survey to 946 females, ages 16 to 19 years that asked them to look at ten cigarette packs with one of four designs: fully branded female-oriented packs, the same packs without descriptor words, the same packs without brand imagery or descriptors (plain packs), and branded non-female-oriented brands. The participants rated the packs according to appeal, health risk, positive smoker image, and pack selection. The females found the plain packs less appealing, and the plain packs were associated with fewer false beliefs about health risks. According to this research, plain packaging could be effective in reducing the appeal of smoking for young females, and the findings support the soon to be implemented plain packaging regulation in Australia. Click here to read the study abstract published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

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