Youth E-Cigarette Initiation After the Food and Drug Administration's Missed Deadline

Introduction: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was ordered to evaluate electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products by September 9, 2021, but missed the court-ordered deadline. This study provides an estimate of electronic cigarette (E-cigarette) use initiation among youth and young adults after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's missed deadline. Methods: Data were obtained from the Truth Longitudinal Cohort, a probability-based longitudinal sample of youth and young adults aged between 15 and 24 years (N=1,393). Respondents were surveyed at baseline (July-October 2021) and at follow-up (January-June 2022). Individuals who had not previously used any E-cigarette products were included in analyses conducted in 2022. Results: Results indicate that 6.9% of youth and young adults had initiated E-cigarette use, suggesting that about 900,000 youth aged 15-17 years and 320,000 young adults aged 18-20 years initiated E-cigarette use after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's missed court-ordered deadline. Conclusions: Over a million youth and young adults initiated E-cigarette use after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's missed court-ordered deadline. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration needs to continue evaluating premarket tobacco product applications, enforce decisions on premarket tobacco product applications, and remove E-cigarettes that are deemed harmful to public health to effectively address the E-cigarette epidemic among young people. Am J Prev Med 2023;65(5):886-891. (c) 2023 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study estimates that over a million youth and young adults initiated E-cigarette use after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration missed the court-ordered deadline for evaluating electronic nicotine delivery system products. The study emphasizes the need for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to continue evaluating tobacco product applications, enforce decisions, and remove harmful E-cigarettes to address the E-cigarette epidemic among young people effectively.