The National Cancer Institute recently awarded USC a grant to further research into tobacco product use among teens and young adults. The $20 million will be geared towards funding the next five years of research and experiments where results could guide future tobacco product regulations.
In partnership with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institute of Health (NIH), USC was one of the nine Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS) programs to receive grants to fund their studies to aid in tobacco product regulations in 2018.
This funding allowed the university’s TCORS program to develop four projects concerning the marketing of tobacco products and their effects on adolescents and young adults.
“We look at the addictiveness of different flavored oral nicotine products amongst young adults who are already using nicotine,” said Adam Leventhal, co-director of the Keck School of Medicine and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. “[We use these results] to inform the FDA of specific flavors and product types that might be more addictive to young people.”
Lilit Aladadyan, the center director for USC TCORS, says all the projects are of equal importance. She added that all the aforementioned projects work in synergy to produce accurate and useful research. She emphasized career enhancement as one of the aspects that the grant will help support, which is training scientists in reducing the “health burden from tobacco product use.”
“I think the jury is still out on the effectiveness of e-cigarette noncombustible products in helping people quit,” continued Aladadyan.
She said that she frequently sees people use e-cigarettes as a means to stop smoking tobacco but in the end, they use both products.
According to the Centers for Disease for Control and Prevention, 90% of adults who smoke started by age 18 which is the youngest age of most college students. For some USC students, this is the age they started using tobacco products, as well.
Lalie Gerard, a junior international relations major, said she is aware of the negative health impacts that nicotine has but has tried an e-cigarette.
“I think it was just in a party context,” she said. “I think other people were doing it, so I just tried it.”
Some students who have not tried nicotine products see their friends smoking in social settings.
“I would say one of the people I know that vape or use nicotine consistently now started at a really young age, like either in middle school or high school. So I think it’s important to reach out to kids in younger age groups,” said Alex Nashed, a sophomore studying industrial and systems engineering.
Leventhal said the results from the four TCORS studies will likely prove the validity of the students’ statements. Leventhal mentions that characteristics like stylish packaging make products look attractive and cool which convinces young people to buy them. Additionally, the marketing strategies of tobacco/nicotine companies use influencers and other platforms to promote the “social advantages” of engaging in E-Cigarettes or vape products. Consequently, the glorification of this “fun” lifestyle can lead teens and young adults down a potential path to addiction.
To avoid this persuasion Aladadyan advises, “I think the best approach to quitting is going the medical approved route which is through nicotine pouches, there’s the call lines. Of course, the best way is not to start.”