B3322 - Assessing trajectories of e-cigarette use and smoking and their risk factors - 06/06/2019

B number: 
B3322
Principal applicant name: 
Katherine East | Addictions Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London (United Kingdom)
Co-applicants: 
Dr Sara Hitchman, Professor Ann McNeill, Dr Ioannis Bakolis, Jasmine Khouja, Amy Taylor, Dr Olivia Maynard, Professor Marcus Munafò
Title of project: 
Assessing trajectories of e-cigarette use and smoking and their risk factors
Proposal summary: 

Smoking is the world’s leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality, killing over seven million people annually. Cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. E-cigarettes are less harmful than smoking, can successfully deliver nicotine, and can help some smokers quit. However, their long-term health effects are unknown, and there are concerns about e-cigarette use among non-smokers. Longitudinal surveys show that non-smoking youth who use e-cigarettes are more likely to go on to try smoking. However, it is not clear whether (1) e-cigarette use can lead to nicotine addiction, sustained e-cigarette use, or regular smoking, (2) the association between e-cigarette use and smoking exists due to common risk factors.

This project therefore aims to assess the trajectories of e-cigarette use and smoking, and whether there are common risk factors for these trajectories.

Measures assessing e-cigarette use and smoking will be designed and included in the next questionnaire (2020-2021). Data from these will be combined with previous ALSPAC data on e-cigarette use and smoking to assess trajectories of product use. Previous ALSPAC data assessing individual, family, peer, school, and community-level factors will also be accessed and used to predict the different trajectories of use.

Impact of research: 
This project has the potential to impact e-cigarette and smoking policy and research. Findings may help: 1. Identify whether non-smoking young adults are becoming regular users of e-cigarettes, dependent on nicotine, and/or transitioning to smoking. 2. Identify groups at-risk for regular e-cigarette use, nicotine dependence, and smoking, to target prevention efforts. 3. Identify which risk factors for e-cigarette use and smoking are important to consider in future research.
Date proposal received: 
Wednesday, 29 May, 2019
Date proposal approved: 
Thursday, 30 May, 2019
Keywords: 
Epidemiology, Addiction - e.g. alcohol, illicit drugs, smoking, gambling, etc., Behaviour - e.g. antisocial behaviour, risk behaviour, etc.