In FY2016, we analyzed several population-based datasets to investigate disparities in tobacco use patterns. For example, we published a paper in Journal of Adolescent Health documenting that Hispanic youth are more likely than non-Hispanic White youth to be susceptible to cigarette smoking, and are less likely than non-Hispanic White youth to believe that tobacco products are dangerous to their health, according to the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS). To further understand the historical trends in smoking susceptibility by race/ethnicity, we analyzed the NYTS data from 1999-2014, and observed that Hispanic and non-Hispanic Native American youth are more likely than non-Hispanic White youth to be susceptibility to smoking during this time period. These results are in an in-press paper in Pediatrics. To better understand tobacco product use patterns, we pioneered the Tobacco Product Use Pattern (T-PUP) Model which classifies tobacco users in seven distinct T-PUPs. We applied this model to the 2012 NYTS data and found significant demographic differences between youth engaging in different T-TUPs. These findings are published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research. This model helps us better understand tobacco product use pattern and disparities at the population level. We also examined the differences in youth smoking prevalence and social environment. We analyzed the data from the 2012 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey (FYTS) and found that youth residing in non-metropolitan Florida are more likely than those residing in metropolitan Florida to smoke cigarettes and to have started smoking at a younger age. These findings were published in The Journal of Rural Health. Lastly, we examined the use of e-cigarettes among youth with asthma using the 2012 FYTS. We found that youth with asthma have higher prevalence of e-cigarette use than youth without asthma, and the disparity is even bigger in non-metropolitan Florida. We also found that e-cigarette use is associated with susceptibility to smoking, and also having asthma attacks, among youth with asthma. These findings are published in American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Regarding risk factors for tobacco use and related disparities, we also have made some discoveries. We continue to build the evidence for the influence of tobacco discount coupons on smoking behaviors. We analyzed the 2012 NYTS data and found that exposure to tobacco coupons is associated with susceptibility to smoking among US youth who have never tried smoking before. These coupons are also associated with reduced self-efficacy in smoking cessation among youth smokers, and increased intentions to purchase cigarettes in the near future. These findings are published in Tobacco Control. Using the data from the Minnesota Adolescent Community Cohort (MACC) Study, we found that exposure to snus discount coupons is associated with susceptibility to snus use among young adults. This finding is in an article currently in-press in American Journal of Health Promotion. We examined other marketing channels used by the tobacco companies to promote their products. Through integrating magazine advertising data and consumer survey data, we found that despite the increasing popularities of non-cigarette products, cigarette advertising still represents more than half of the tobacco magazine advertising. We also found that magazines with higher young adults and low-income adult readership have higher number of cigarette advertising, suggesting that tobacco companies are potentially targeting these sub-populations. Social environment plays an important role in smoking. We found, after examining the 2012 FYTS data, that youth in school with higher prevalence of smoking and higher level of peer-reported acceptance of smoking are more likely to smoke cigarettes. The approach used to measure social environment in this article represents a methodological advancement, and these findings are published in Preventive Medicine. Lastly, we observed disparities in social environment that supports/discourage smoking by metropolitan status. Using the 2012 FYTS data, we found that the social environment surrounding non-metropolitan youth is more permissive to cigarette smoking, e.g., higher acceptance of adult smoking by youth, reported receiving cigarettes from parents, etc. These findings are included in The Journal of Rural Health paper mentioned above. We started to explore the potential social consequences of smoking. In a paper recently accepted for publication in SLEEP, we reported that smoking and sleep quality exhibit reciprocal relationships, i.e., smoking predicts subsequent poor sleep quality, and poor sleep quality predicts subsequent smoking among youth. We also found that the magnitudes of these associations differ between Black and White youth. Given the known association between sleep and cognitive function and school performance, this may be a mechanism that explain the association between smoking and lower education in the adult population. Our lab has made 21 presentations about our research in different professional meetings and conferences throughout the year.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 39 publications
