Tobacco use behavior is complex and changing, with electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) increasing in use. In the face of these changes, we need to know more about the behavioral phenomenon of e-cigarette use and its association with other factors, such as continued combustible tobacco use (conventional cigarettes), nicotine dependence, or changes in patterns of tobacco product use, including reductions or cessation of conventional cigarettes and uptake of e-cigarettes. Understanding e-cigarettes, "as they are actually used," will help guide the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in their regulatory decisions.
Using ecological momentary assessments (EMA), this project will gather real-time reports of dual product (both conventional and e-cigarette) users' daily experiences and tobacco use to examine how the immediate context of tobacco use, along with the individual's subjective reactions to those experiences, varies by product and individual characteristics, and influences future patterns of conventional and e-cigarette use.
This work addresses several FDA research priorities:
We will recruit 450 adult cigarette smokers who also use or who are at "high risk" for using e-cigarettes and conduct two longitudinal waves of EMA. Our aims include:
Our in-depth examination of the real-time reactions to the use of e-cigarettes directly addresses FDA questions of interest.
National Cancer Institute [3] of the National Institutes of Health (Grant No. R01 CA184681)
Links
[1] https://www.ihrp.uic.edu/../researcher/robin-j-mermelstein-phd
[2] https://www.ihrp.uic.edu/../researcher/kathleen-r-diviak-phd
[3] http://www.cancer.gov/