Developing a National Longitudinal Tobacco Cohort of Youth and Young Adults: The Tobacco Epidemic Evaluation Network (TEEN+) Study

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Timely and relevant data are critical to monitoring the rapidly changing youth vaping epidemic and for understanding the prevalence, patterns of use, knowledge, and perceptions of tobacco products. While e-cigarettes have been the most used tobacco product among youth for nearly a decade, new nicotine delivery products continue to be introduced to the US market. Flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes, and flavored cigars, drive disparities in use by young people. Aims and Methods To examine tobacco use among youth and young adults, the Monitoring E-Cigarette Use among Youth project established a longitudinal cohort of youth and young adults (13–24)—the Tobacco Epidemic Evaluation Network (TEEN+) study. TEEN+ focuses on e-cigarette and other tobacco products use and also includes questions about other substance use (eg, marijuana, alcohol), physical health, mental health, and social determinants of health (eg, discrimination, poverty, sexual and gender identity). Geocoding of responses allows for the evaluation of local tobacco control policies. The cohort includes an oversample of California residents to generate reliable and representative state-level estimates. This manuscript provides an overview of methods and baseline demographics from Wave 1. Results The initial Wave 1 TEEN+ cohort included 10 255 in the national sample and 2761 in the California sample. Conclusions TEEN+ study data complement nationally-representative cross-sectional studies and allow for rapid evaluation of local and state policies. This manuscript describes the study’s probability-based sample recruitment. Furthermore, we identify this initiative as a resource for evaluating the impact of flavored tobacco restriction policies and informing policy implementation efforts. Implications This manuscript provides an overview of the methodology and baseline characteristics for a new longitudinal cohort of youth and young adults, the Tobacco Epidemic Evaluation Network (TEEN+) study. The TEEN+ study data can be used to evaluate the impact of flavored tobacco product restriction policies and informing policy implementation efforts.