Adolescents' smokeless tobacco susceptibility by perceived professional baseball players' use

Exploring factors associated with smokeless tobacco use among young people: A systematic scoping review

PURPOSE

While smoking is declining among young people, smokeless tobacco use is increasing. Identifying who is using smokeless tobacco and why is essential in preventing smokeless tobacco use. This study aimed to comprehensively explore the factors of young people's use of smokeless tobacco in western countries and identify research gaps.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic scoping review of studies that examined factors associated with smokeless tobacco use among young people (ages 13-29) from western countries published between January 2011 and September 2021. Searches were conducted in CINAHL, Medline, and Scopus. Studies on adults, total tobacco use (i.e., did not differentiate between tobacco product types), dual and multiple uses of tobacco, and studies on smokeless tobacco cessation programs were excluded.

RESULTS

A total of 160 studies were included in this scoping review. The studies were primarily undertaken in the US and the Scandinavian countries, and the majority explored smokeless tobacco use without distinguishing between the specific types. Smokeless tobacco users were more likely to be male, non-Hispanic white, engaging in physical activity, and using other substances, including cigarettes and alcohol. The role of friends and family were identified as critical factors that were related to the use of smokeless tobacco.

CONCLUSIONS

This scoping review suggests that preventative measures against smokeless tobacco use should focus on peer and family members' roles and that these measures may benefit from targeting males. Additional research, including systematic reviews on this area to validate the identified associated factors, would improve the understanding of smokeless tobacco use.

Exposure to a Tobacco-Specific Carcinogen Among Adolescent Smokeless Tobacco Users in Rural California, United States

INTRODUCTION

Approximately the same percentage of male high school students in the United States currently uses conventional smokeless tobacco as smokes cigarettes, resulting in toxin exposure.

METHODS

This study assessed tobacco product use (smokeless, combustible, and electronic cigarettes) and nicotine and carcinogen exposures in a sample of 594 male rural high school baseball players-a population traditionally at risk for smokeless tobacco use. Salivary specimens were assayed for cotinine (a biomarker of nicotine exposure) and urine specimens for 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL, a biomarker of the carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

RESULTS

The prevalence of past 30-day use of any tobacco product was 29%. Past 7-day smokeless tobacco use (prevalence: 13%) was associated with the highest levels of cotinine and NNAL observed in the sample, whether smokeless tobacco was used exclusively (geometric means: cotinine 11.1 ng/mL; NNAL 31.9 pg/mg-creatinine) or in combination with combustible products (geometric means: cotinine 31.6 ng/mL; NNAL 50.0 pg/mg creatinine). Cotinine and NNAL levels were incrementally higher in each increasing category of smokeless tobacco use frequency. However, observed levels were lower than previously reported for adults, likely reflecting less smokeless use per day among adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on these biomarker observations, adolescents who use conventional smokeless tobacco products are exposed to substantial levels of nicotine and NNK. Although exposed to lower levels than adult smokeless users, the findings are concerning given the young age of the sample and tendency for smokeless tobacco users to increase use intensity over time.

IMPLICATIONS

This study demonstrates that adolescents using smokeless tobacco are exposed to levels of nicotine and NNK that increase with use frequency and that exceed exposures among peers using other tobacco products. Youth smokeless tobacco use in the United States has not declined along with youth smoking prevalence, giving greater importance to this health concern. To reduce youth (and adult) exposures, needed actions include effective smokeless tobacco use prevention, potentially in combination with reducing the levels of harmful and potentially harmful chemicals in smokeless tobacco products currently popular among adolescents.

Adolescents' Perceived Risk of Harm Due to Smoking: The role of extracurricular activities

Purpose: Tobacco use initiated during adolescence often leads to continued use in adulthood. There are multiple factors influencing initiation, including low perceived risk of harm. Adolescents involved in school-based extracurricular activities have opportunities to interact with coaches, leaders, and group supervisors who may influence their perception of risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of extracurricular activities and adolescents' perceived risks of harm of tobacco use, utilizing an existing dataset.Methods: The 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) dataset was used for a cross-sectional study of youth, ages 12 to <18 years. Adolescents involved in one or more school-based, extracurricular activities were compared with adolescents involved in no activities. The key variable was the response to the NSDUH question regarding perceived risk of harm from daily smoking (≥1 packs of cigarettes). Chi-square tests and multinomial logistic regression were used to analyze the data.Results: At the time of the 2016 NSDUH study period, among the adolescents aged 12 to <18 years (n=4,308), 17.5% indicated that they did not participate in any extracurricular activities and 10.6% reported no/slight perceived risk of harm associated with tobacco use. Adolescents who did not participate in extracurricular activities were more likely to report no/slight risk of harm from smoking (Adjusted Odds Ratio, AOR= 2.21 [95%CI: 1.62, 3.02]) as opposed to the perception of great risk of harm.Conclusion: Adolescents who are not involved in extracurricular activities are more likely to endorse the perception that cigarettes have no/slight risk of harm. School-based extracurricular activities may provide unintended benefits to adolescents; health care professionals, including dental hygienists, should be aware of this associated health benefit.

Research on Youth and Young Adult Tobacco Use, 2013-2018, From the Food and Drug Administration-National Institutes of Health Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science

The Tobacco Regulatory Science Program is a collaborative research effort between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 2013, the NIH funded 14 Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS), which serve as partners in establishing research, training, and professional development programs to guide FDA. Each of the fourteen TCORS, and two other NIH-funded research programs, the Center for the Evaluation of Nicotine in Cigarettes (CENIC) and the Consortium on Methods Evaluating Tobacco (COMET), pursued specific research themes relevant to FDA's priorities. A key mandate for FDA is to reduce tobacco use among young people. This article is a review of the peer-reviewed research, including published and in-press manuscripts, from the TCORS, CENIC, and COMET, which provides specific data or other findings on youth (ages 10-18 years) and/or young adults (ages 18-34 years), from 2013 to 2018. Citations of all TCORS, CENIC, and COMET articles from September 2013 to December 2017 were collected by the TCORS coordinating center, the Center for Evaluation and Coordination of Training and Research. Additional citations up to April 30, 2018 were requested from the principal investigators. A scoring rubric was developed and implemented to assess study type, primary theme, and FDA priority area addressed by each article. The major subareas and findings from each priority area are presented. There were 766 articles in total, with 258 (34%) focusing on youth and/or young adults. Findings relevant to FDA from this review concern impact analysis, toxicity, health effects, addiction, marketing influences, communications, and behavior.

IMPLICATIONS

The Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science, CENIC, and COMET have had a high output of scientific articles since 2013. These Centers are unique in that the FDA supports science specifically to guide future regulatory actions. The 258 articles that have focused on youth and/or young adults are providing data for regulatory actions by the FDA related to the key priority areas such as the addictiveness of non-cigarette products, the effects of exposure to electronic cigarette marketing on initiation and cessation, and the impact of flavored products on youth and young adult tobacco use. Future regulations to reduce tobacco use will be guided by the cumulative evidence. These Centers are one innovative mechanism to promote important outcomes to advance tobacco regulatory science.

Predictors of Smokeless Tobacco Susceptibility, Initiation, and Progression Over Time Among Adolescents in a Rural Cohort

BACKGROUND

Use of smokeless tobacco (ST, moist snuff and chewing tobacco) is elevated among male rural youth, particularly participants in certain sports, including baseball.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess factors associated with adolescent male athletes' ST-related behaviors over time, including: baseline use, initiation, and progression in use intensity in a school-based longitudinal cohort.

METHODS

Baseline and one-year follow-up questionnaires assessed sociodemographic characteristics, environmental factors, and tobacco-related perceptions and behaviors among 9- to12th-grade interscholastic baseball players in 36 rural California schools. Population characteristics were compared among ST use categories (never, experimental, and experienced users). Multivariable models using generalized estimating equations were estimated for outcomes among baseline ST never-users (ST susceptibility and future initiation) and experimenters (ST expectations and progression in ST use).

RESULTS

Of 594 participants, over half (57%) had ever tried a tobacco product and the most common products tried were ST (36%) and electronic cigarettes (36%). Being older, perceiving less ST harm, being Non-Hispanic White, using alcohol or other tobacco products, having family or friends who use ST, and being receptive to advertising were associated with greater baseline ST use. Baseline alcohol consumption, lower perceived ST harm, peer use, and susceptibility and expectations were predictive of ST initiation and/or progression at one-year follow-up. Conclusion/Importance: Certain environmental, socio-demographic, cognitive, and behavioral factors predict ST susceptibility and later initiation and progression in use. Interventions addressing these factors have potential to prevent ST uptake and continued use within this high-risk adolescent population.

Attitudes toward smokeless tobacco use at all public sports venues among U.S. adults, 2016

Policies prohibiting smokeless tobacco (SLT) use at sports venues have been enacted in California and nine U.S. cities. We measured opposition toward SLT use at all public sports venues and its correlates among U.S. adults. Data were from the 2016 SummerStyles, a web-based survey of U.S. adults aged ≥18years (n=4203). Weighted estimates of opposition ("strongly" or "somewhat") SLT use were computed overall and by selected characteristics. Multivariable Poisson regression analyses were performed to identify determinants of opposition toward SLT use overall and among current tobacco product users. Overall, 81.8% of U.S. adults opposed SLT use at all public sports venues. Opposition varied by tobacco product use status: 85.9%, 86.9% and 60.4% among never, former, and current tobacco product users, respectively. Among all adults, the likelihood of opposition was higher among females than males (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio [APR]=1.05; 95%CI=1.01-1.08) and increased with every 10-year increase in age (APR=1.01; 95%CI=1.00-1.02). Likelihood was lower among persons with a high school diploma (APR=0.92; 95%CI=0.88-0.96) than those with college degree or higher; persons widowed/divorced/separated (APR=0.92; 95%CI=0.87-0.97) than those married; and current tobacco product users (APR=0.70; 95%CI=0.65-0.76) than never users. Among current tobacco product users, likelihood was lower among persons living in the Midwest (APR=0.81; 95%CI=0.66-0.98) and South (APR=0.78; 95%CI=0.65-0.94) than the Northeast. Most U.S. adults, including three-fifths of current tobacco product users, oppose SLT use at all public sports venues. Complete tobacco-free policies for sports venues that prohibit all forms of tobacco product use can help reduce the social acceptability of SLT use.