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Rates of Youth Use of Flavored E-Cigarettes Concerning, According to 2021 NYTS

The 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) findings on e-cigarette use were recently published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study is a cross-sectional, self-administered survey of U.S. middle (grades 6–8) and high (grades 9–12) school students and assessed current (used on one or more of the past 30 days) e-cigarette use; frequency of use; and use by device type, flavors, and usual brand.

Due to changes in the way the survey was conducted this year, results of the 2021 NYTS cannot be compared to findings from previous surveys.

Highlights from NYTS:

• 2 million U.S. middle and high school students reported currently using e-cigarettes in 2021, with more than 8 in 10 using flavored e-cigarettes
• About 2 in 5 high school students who use e-cigarettes reported frequent use; about 1 in 4 reported daily use
• Among current youth users, disposables were the most commonly used type of e-cigarette device

FDA Permits Marketing of First E-Cigarette Products

On Oct. 12, FDA announced it has authorized the marketing of three new tobacco products through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway, marking the first set of electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products ever to be authorized by FDA. FDA issued marketing granted orders (MGOs) to R.J. Reynolds (RJR) Vapor Company for its Vuse Solo closed ENDS device and two accompanying tobacco-flavored e-liquid pods:

• Vuse Solo Power Unit
• Vuse Replacement Cartridge Original 4.8% G1
• Vuse Replacement Cartridge Original 4.8% G2

FDA Authorizes Marketing of Four Oral Tobacco Products

On Oct. 19, FDA issued marketing granted orders (MGO) to U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company LLC (USSTC) for four oral tobacco products under the brand name of VERVE.

The four products are:

• Verve Discs Blue Mint
• Verve Discs Green Mint
• Verve Chews Blue Mint
• Verve Chews Green Mint

PATH: Latest Data Files Released

Researchers can now access two new data files from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study:

• Wave 5 Public-Use Files (PUF) which consists of data collected from December 2018 through November 2019
• Updated Master Linkage Files (MLF)

More About CTP Research

Research and Funding Opportunities

• Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for the Center for Rapid Surveillance of Tobacco (CRST) to Assess Changes in Use Behaviors, Product Marketing, and the Marketplace
• Maximizing the Scientific Value of Existing Biospecimen Collections: Scientific Opportunities for Exploratory Research
• Secondary Analyses of Existing Datasets of Tobacco Use and Health
• Tobacco Regulatory Science
• FDA Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings
• Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award in Tobacco Regulatory Research (K01; RFA-OD-20-008 or RFA-OD-20-011)
• Pathway to Independence Award in Tobacco Regulatory Research (K99/R00; RFA-OD-20-009 or RFA-OD-20-010)

Recent Publications by CTP Researchers

• Developing and Validating Measures of Absolute and Relative E-Cigarette Product Risk Perceptions: Single Items Can Be Surprisingly Comprehensive
• Absolute and Relative Smokeless Tobacco Product Risk Perceptions: Developing and Validating New Measures that are Up-to-Snuff
• E-cigarette use and change in plans to quit cigarette smoking among adult smokers in the United States: Longitudinal findings from the PATH Study 2014–2019
• Modeling mortality risk effects of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco: results from the National Health Interview Survey Linked Mortality File Data
• Rural-urban disparities in tobacco use and the role of pharmacists in closing the gap [PDF]
• Validation of the Wave 1 and Wave 2 Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study indicators of tobacco dependence using biomarkers of nicotine exposure across tobacco products [PDF]
• Image processing for public health surveillance of tobacco point-of-sale advertising: machine learning-based methodology [PDF]
• E-Cigarette Device Types Used by Middle School Students and High School Students—The U.S., 2019 
• Characteristics of past 30-day cigar smoking, U.S. adolescents, 2020
• Validation of an index for functionally important respiratory symptoms among adults in the nationally representative Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, 2014-2016

This newsletter serves as a digest of the latest announcements and stories out of CTP. It is a complement to our CTP Connect newsletter and CTP News e-blasts.