Use of Smoking Cessation Aids: Role of Perceived Safety and Efficacy

The majority of smokers indicate that they would like to quit. It has been estimated that approximately three quarters of Australian smokers have tried to change their behaviour in the last 12 months (Scollo &amp; Winstanley, 2008); similarly, more than half of US smokers report having tried to quit in the last year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2011). Despite their interest in quitting, the proportion of smokers who successfully quit each year is very low (CDC, 2011). While other factors are also important, poor cessation rates can partly be attributed to the low uptake of efficacious smoking cessation methods, particularly pharmacotherapies (Shiffman, Brockwell, Pillitteri, &amp; Gitchell, 2008).</jats:p

What substances are adolescents vaping? Estimating nicotine-specific and marijuana-specific vaping from US national youth surveys

Background: The prevalence of electronic cigarette (“e-cigarettes”) use among youth has raised alarm over recent years. Vaping is usually assumed to be of nicotine, but uncertainties in survey definitions may also include non-nicotine substances which can impose different risks (particularly marijuana). The current study quantifies the proportions of nicotine-specific and marijuana-specific vaping among adolescents. Methods: Data from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) 2020 survey and National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) 2021 were analyzed with respect to the substance vaped: nicotine, marijuana, or (in MTF) flavoring only. Past-30-day nicotine-specific vaping (exclusively, or also having vaped other substances) and marijuana-specific vaping were calculated. Results were also broken down by grade level, by cigarette smoking history (current, former, or never), and among frequent e-cigarette users (on 20 days out of the past 30 days). Results: Among past-30-day e-cigarette users, 14.6% (MTF) and 18.8% (NYTS) reported not vaping _any_ nicotine in the past 30 days. Marijuana use was reported by 45.7% (MTF) and 42.5% (NYTS) of past-30-day vapers. Both _nicotine_ vaping and marijuana vaping in the past 30 days were more common in current and former smokers than in never-smokers, and in frequent vapers (of any substance). Conversely, never-smokers were more commonly _exclusively_ vaping marijuana compared to current and former smokers.  Conclusions: A notable proportion of self-reported past-30-day e-cigarette users reported not vaping nicotine, and nearly half of self-reported past-30-day e-cigarette users vaped marijuana. Inclusion of more detailed data capturing the variety of substances used in vaping devices is imperative for accurate public health surveillance of both nicotine and marijuana vaping among US adolescents, considering their different respective harms and regulatory mechanisms.  </jats:p

[Commentary] Bad Data and Bad Conclusions Will Lead to Bad Policy – Implausible Claims that Vaping Increases COVID-19 Risk for Youth and Young Adults

In this brief peer review, we argue that the data reported by Gaiha et al (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.07.002) regarding associations between vaping and COVID-19 testing are so suspect that any conclusions drawn from it cannot be relied upon. We discuss six main areas of concern and conclude that the paper should be retracted.</jats:p