Youth E-Cigarette Initiation After the Food and Drug Administration's Missed Deadline

Authors

Elizabeth K. Do, Truth Initiative Schroeder Institute, Washington, District of Columbia; Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia. Electronic address: edo@truthinitiative.org.
Elizabeth C. Hair, Truth Initiative Schroeder Institute, Washington, District of Columbia; Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, New York.
Emily M. Donovan, Truth Initiative Schroeder Institute, Washington, District of Columbia.
Carlin D. Nelson, Truth Initiative Schroeder Institute, Washington, District of Columbia.
Tatum McKay, Truth Initiative Schroeder Institute, Washington, District of Columbia.
Donna M. Vallone, Truth Initiative Schroeder Institute, Washington, District of Columbia; Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, New York.
Barbara A. Schillo, Truth Initiative Schroeder Institute, Washington, District of Columbia.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

11-1-2023

Journal

American journal of preventive medicine

Volume

65

Issue

5

DOI

10.1016/j.amepre.2023.04.015

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was ordered to evaluate electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products by September 9, 2021, but missed the court-ordered deadline. This study provides an estimate of electronic cigarette (E-cigarette) use initiation among youth and young adults after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's missed deadline. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Truth Longitudinal Cohort, a probability-based longitudinal sample of youth and young adults aged between 15 and 24 years (N=1,393). Respondents were surveyed at baseline (July-October 2021) and at follow-up (January-June 2022). Individuals who had not previously used any E-cigarette products were included in analyses conducted in 2022. RESULTS: Results indicate that 6.9% of youth and young adults had initiated E-cigarette use, suggesting that about 900,000 youth aged 15-17 years and 320,000 young adults aged 18-20 years initiated E-cigarette use after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's missed court-ordered deadline. CONCLUSIONS: Over a million youth and young adults initiated E-cigarette use after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's missed court-ordered deadline. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration needs to continue evaluating premarket tobacco product applications, enforce decisions on premarket tobacco product applications, and remove E-cigarettes that are deemed harmful to public health to effectively address the E-cigarette epidemic among young people.

APA Citation

Do, Elizabeth K.; Hair, Elizabeth C.; Donovan, Emily M.; Nelson, Carlin D.; McKay, Tatum; Vallone, Donna M.; and Schillo, Barbara A., "Youth E-Cigarette Initiation After the Food and Drug Administration's Missed Deadline" (2023). GW Authored Works. Paper 3896.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/3896

Department

Public Health Student Works