NEWS
MAJOR US STUDY
I N T O S M O K I N G & VA P I N G
HABITS EXTENDED UNTIL 2022
A massive in-depth study into the vaping
and smoking habits of Americans has
been extended to run until 2022.
It was originally planned to include three
waves of research but an additional four
waves have been approved in order to
increase the amount of useful data that
can be obtained.
This huge research initiative is joint
venture between the Federal Drugs
Administration (FDA) and the National
Institute of Health and is designed to
give the most comprehensive picture of
smoking and vaping habits to date.
The data to be used in order to create
future tobacco and vaping product
regulatory policies and the extension of
the survey will allow further information
to be gathered regarding smoking and
vaping habits of young Americans.
The Population Assessment of Tobacco
and Health (PATH) study is one of the
first projects that NIH and FDA have
worked on together since Congress
gave FDA authority to regulate tobacco
products.
About 46,000 people aged12 years and
older are participating in the study with
researchers meeting with participants on
a regular basis over the lifetime of the
survey.
Findings from the study will inform FDA’s
regulatory decisions and actions under
the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention
and Tobacco Control ACT.
The PATH Study is looking at subjects
including:
Reasons why some people use tobacco
and others do not.
How and why people:
• Start using tobacco,
14 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE USA
• Start using different types of tobacco
products,
• Use two or more tobacco products,
and
• Switch from one tobacco product to
another.
• How people quit using tobacco.
• Reasons why some people who quit
using tobacco start using it again.
• Changes in people’s attitudes toward
tobacco over time.
• Differences in tobacco use-related
attitudes, behaviors, and health
among:
• Men and women,
• People of different races and ethnic
groups, and
• People of different ages.
“
Data from the first
round of the survey has
already been released
and early data supports
the view that electronic
cigarettes are not a
gateway to smoking for
younger people.
”
Data from the first round of the survey
has already been released and early
data supports the view that electronic
cigarettes are not a gateway to smoking
for younger people.
The information gathered from the
second wave of data is currently under
review while the third wave of the study
is still in progress.
So far information released from the
study which is specifically related to
e-cigarettes includes the following:
that the use of e-cigarettes in the US
is relatively small. While many of those
surveyed reported trying an e-cigarette
at some point only 5.5 percent of adults
and 3.1 percent of youth ages 12-17
reported vaping in the past month.
More than 90 percent of people who
have tried vaping reported using tobacco
first which goes a long way to busting
the myth that vaping leads to regular
smoking.
The research suggests that smokers are
increasingly turning to vaping to help
them quit which has also been a finding
of independent studies in the UK.
According to the FDA website: “The
study will help scientists learn how and
why people start using tobacco, quit
using it, and start using it again after
they’ve quit. They will also learn about
how health is affected by tobacco use.
“Information from the PATH Study will
help FDA and NIH to understand tobacco
use behaviors and associated health
conditions. Findings from the study may
inform FDA’s actions related to tobacco
products, thereby helping to achieve
the goals of the 2009 Family Smoking
Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
(FSPTCA).
“PATH Study participants are a nationally
representative sample from across the
United States. Participants include youth,
young adults, and adults who may or
may not use tobacco products.”