Teens Hear About New Nicotine Delivery System, Heated Tobacco, via Social Media and Internet

While e-cigarettes continue to be popular among teenagers, a new class of nicotine delivery systems with novel designs are ready to compete for their attention, according to a new study conducted by the University of California San Diego, “Adolescent Use of and Susceptibility to Heated Tobacco Products” published in the August 2021 issue of Pediatrics (published online July 26). Heated tobacco products (HTPs) generate nicotine-containing aerosols by heating tobacco instead of burning it. Researchers analyzed data from the most recent California Student Tobacco Survey (2019-2020), with more than 160,000 students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades from 358 California schools, and found about 9% of California high school students had heard of heated tobacco products. The survey was conducted just months after the first brand of heated tobacco products received premarket tobacco product application authorization in 2019. Survey responders were most likely to report that they heard of heated tobacco products on the internet or social media (39.1%) followed by from a friend or someone else (32.5%). The distribution of HTPs in the U.S. is still limited. Even so, a small percentage (0.67%) of high school students reported that they had tried HTPs. Among those who have not tried, 1 out 5 were susceptible to use it if their best friends offered them one. The authors conclude that this awareness of heated tobacco products among adolescents was remarkable given the low availability of products at the time of this survey, which should put the public health community on high alert as more manufacturers plan to start selling and promoting heated tobacco products.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.