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 Cigarettes can include menthol flavoring, and other tobacco products
like hookah are available in wide variety of flavors.
“Consistent with national school-based estimates, this study
confirms widespread appeal of flavored products among youth tobacco
users,” the authors, led by Bridget K. Ambrose of the Center for
Tobacco Products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Silver
Spring, Maryland, wrote in their research letter.
Most tobacco use begins during youth and young adulthood, and
although cigarette use has been declining, other products like
e-cigarettes and hookah are becoming more common, they wrote.
The researchers used data from a nationally representative study of
nearly 46,000 U.S. adults and youth ages 12 to 17 who answered
questions about use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, hookahs, cigars,
pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco, dissolvable tobacco and other
products.
Respondents answered whether or not the first product they ever used
had been flavored to taste like menthol, mint, clove, spice, candy,
fruit, chocolate, alcohol or other sweets.
Of 13,651 teens in the survey, 2,900 reported ever using a tobacco
product, most commonly cigarettes or e-cigarettes, and 1,152 said
they had used tobacco products over the previous month.
Almost 90 percent of teens who had used hookah, 81 percent of ever
e-cigarette users, 65 percent of ever users of any cigar type, and
50 percent of ever cigarette smokers said the first product they
used was flavored.
Of the teens who had used any tobacco product over the previous
month, 80 percent had used a flavored one, including 60 percent of
cigarette smokers.
Many youth said flavoring was a reason to use e-cigarettes, hookahs,
cigars, smokeless tobacco, and snus pouches, the researchers
reported in JAMA.
A 2014 study in the journal Tobacco Control found that cigar use is
more common among youth age 18 to 25 than any other age group, which
may be driven by the popularity of flavored cigars (see bit.ly/1l8jX4X).
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"A lot of times they're bubble gum or chocolate or candy flavored,
and in many cases the packages are also framed in a manner to appeal
to kids," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologist
Brian King told Reuters Health when the 2014 study was published.
They are also less expensive than cigarettes because they are not
subject to the same taxes, despite containing the same carcinogens,
said King, who was not involved in the JAMA research letter.
"In many states these products can be purchased for mere pocket
change," he said.
The FDA continues to monitor new and novel tobacco products, said
Michael Felberbaum, a press officer for the FDA.
“The FDA evaluates studies as part of a larger body of evidence
aimed at assisting in our mission to protect public health and
furthering our understanding on particular issues,” Felberbaum told
Reuters Health by email. “Flavored tobacco products have become
increasingly common in the United States and are especially
attractive to youth.”
“As such, the FDA is particularly interested in monitoring and
assessing the use of flavored tobacco products among youth,” he
said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1RxtpdR JAMA, online October 26, 2015.
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