Abstract Purpose E-cigarettes are currently the most commonly used tobacco product among US youth. However, unlike conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes are not subject to marketing restrictions. ...This study investigates the association between exposure to e-cigarette marketing and susceptibility and use of e-cigarettes in youth. Methods Data were obtained from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Participants were 22,007 US middle and high school students. Multivariate logistic regression models assessed the relationship between e-cigarette marketing (internet, print, retail, and TV/movies) and current and ever use as well as susceptibility to use e-cigarettes among never e-cigarette users. Results Exposure to each type of e-cigarette marketing was significantly associated with increased likelihood of ever and current use of e-cigarettes among middle and high school students. Exposure was also associated with susceptibility to use of e-cigarettes among current nonusers. In multivariate models, as the number of channels of e-cigarette marketing exposure increased, the likelihood of use and susceptibility also increased. Conclusions Findings highlight the significant associations between e-cigarette marketing and e-cigarette use among youth and the need for longitudinal research on these relationships.
Sugar-sweetened beverage and caffeinated beverage consumption are associated with a variety of health issues among youth. Food and beverage marketing has been shown to affect youth's preferences, ...purchases, and consumption of marketed products. Previous research suggests that outdoor food and beverage marketing differs by community demographics, with more advertisements in lower-income communities and near schools. The purpose of this study is to examine the density of sugar-sweetened and caffeinated beverage advertisements near schools by school type (middle vs. high school) and by school-level SES.
Data are from the Outdoor Measuring and Evaluating the Determinants and Influence of Advertising (MEDIA)study, which documented and described all outdoor food and beverage advertisements near 47 middle and high schools in 2012. Beverage advertisements were categorized as: sugar-sweetened/caffeinated, sugar-sweetened/non-caffeinated, non-sugar-sweetened/caffeinated, or non-sugar-sweetened/non-caffeinated. Schools were categorized by type (middle vs high) and by SES as determined by the percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Bootstrapped non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests compared the number of advertisements in each category by school type and school-level SES (higher vs lower).
Compared to schools with higher SES, schools with lower SES had significantly more advertisements for sugar-sweetened/non-caffeinated beverages (Medianlow = 28.5 (IQR 17-69), vs Medianhigh = 10.5 (IQR 4-17) (p = 0.002)., sugar-sweetened non-caffeinated (Medianlow = 46 (IQR 16-99) vs Medianhigh = 13.5 (IQR 6-25), p = 0.002), -sugar-sweetened caffeinated (Medianlow = 12 (IQR 8-19) vs Medianhigh = 6 (IQR 2-8), p = 0.000), and non-sugar-sweetened non-caffeinated (Medianlow = 30 (IQR 13-65) vs Medianhigh = 14 (IQR 4-29), p = 0.045).There were no significant differences by school type.
This study adds to the literature demonstrating pervasive marketing of unhealthy products in lower-income communities. Disproportionate exposure to sugar-sweetened and caffeinated beverage advertisements in lower-income communities may contribute to the disparities in associated health outcomes by economic status.
The optimized, superconducting stellarator Wendelstein 7-X went into operation and delivered first measurement data after 15 years of construction and one year commissioning. Errors in the magnet ...assembly were confirmend to be small. Plasma operation was started with 5 MW electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) power and five inboard limiters. Core plasma values of Te>8 keV, Ti>2 keV at line-integrated densities n≈3⋅1019 m−2 were achieved, exceeding the original expectations by about a factor of two. Indications for a core-electron-root were found. The energy confinement times are in line with the international stellarator scaling, despite unfavourable wall conditions, i.e. large areas of metal surfaces and particle sources from the limiter close to the plasma volume. Well controlled shorter hydrogen discharges at higher power (4 MW ECRH power for 1 s) and longer discharges at lower power (0.7 MW ECRH power for 6 s) could be routinely established after proper wall conditioning. The fairly large set of diagnostic systems running in the end of the 10 weeks operation campaign provided first insights into expected and unexpected physics of optimized stellarators.
We aimed to determine (1) the most commonly used brands of electronic vaping products (EVPs) by young adults in Texas during Spring 2023, and (2) if brand preferences differ by sociodemographic ...characteristics, current cigarette smoking, and current cannabis vaping.
Participants were 2,491 18-25-year-olds (Mean age = 20.6; 62.9% female; 29.7% sexual gender minority; 35.9% non-Hispanic White, 45.0% Hispanic/Latino, 3.5% non-Hispanic Black, 11.6% non-Hispanic Asian, and 4.0% two or more races or another race/ethnicity) enrolled in 21 Texas colleges during February-March 2023 who used EVPs in the past 30-days.
Esco Bar was the most popular EVP brand (32.5%), followed by Elf Bar (19%), Vuse (10.1%), and all other brands were used by < 10% of participants. Nearly 20% of participants reported not having a usual brand. Participants who used Esco Bar, Elf Bar, and Puff Bar were younger (i.e., 18-20 years old), female, and Hispanic/Latino. Vuse, JUUL, and Smok were used by participants who were older (i.e., 21-25 years old), male, non-Hispanic white, used EVPs daily, and currently smoked cigarettes.
The present study extends prior research by providing contemporary data on young adult EVP brand preferences in Texas during Spring 2023. Many of the brands commonly used by young adults (e.g., Esco Bar, Elf Bar) are not currently authorized for marketing or sale by the Food and Drug Administration. Findings underscore a need for additional enforcement efforts that prohibit the distribution and sale of these products to, in turn, prevent EVP use among young adults.
Abstract Background To explore associations between energy drink consumption and alcohol use among college students. Methods Participants included 585 students ( m age = 18.7; 47.0% White, 21% ...Hispanic, 25% Asian, 7% other race/ethnicity; 56.0% female). Energy drink behaviors included past month and past week consumption. Alcohol use behaviors included past month and past two week consumption, as well as heavy drinking and quantity of alcohol consumed. Consumption of energy drinks mixed with alcohol was also measured. Linear and logistic regression analyses between energy drink consumption and alcohol use were run controlling for gender, age, and race/ethnicity. Results For each one unit increase in past month (i.e., additional day used) energy drink use, the likelihood of past month alcohol use increased by 80%, heavy drinking by 80% and past month energy drinks mixed with alcohol use by 90%. Similar results were found for past week energy drink use. A positive relationship between energy drink use and quantity of alcohol consumed during a single episode of drinking was also found ( p < 0.001). Significant gender interactions between energy drink consumption and alcohol use as well as quantity of alcohol consumed were found, with relationships stronger among males than females. There were no significant interactions by race/ethnicity. Conclusions Energy drinks are readily available to students and pose potential health risks. Students who report greater energy drink consumption also consume more alcohol, are more likely to mix energy drinks and alcohol, and experience heavy episodes of drinking, which is problematic given the potential negative consequences of these drinks.
Research to date in young children and adults shows a strong, inverse relationship between sleep duration and risk for overweight and obesity. Fewer studies examining this relationship have been ...conducted in adolescents. The purpose of the article is to describe the relationship between sleep and weight in a population of adolescents, controlling for demographics, energy intake, energy expenditure, and depression. This is a cross‐sectional study of 723 adolescents participating in population‐based studies of the etiologic factors related to obesity. We examined the relationship between three weight‐related dependent variables obtained through a clinical assessment and three sleep variables obtained through self‐report. Average caloric intake from dietary recalls, average activity counts based on accelerometers, and depression were included as covariates and the analysis was stratified by gender and grade level. Our results show that the relationship between sleep duration and BMI is evident in middle‐school boys (β = −0.32, s.e. = 0.06: P < 0.001) and girls (β = −0.18, s.e. = 0.08: P = 0.02) but largely absent in high‐school students. Differences in sleep patterns have little association with weight in males, but in high‐school girls, waking up late on weekends as compared to weekdays is associated with lower body fat (β = −0.80, s.e. = 0.40: P = 0.05) and a healthy weight status (β = −0.28, s.e. = 0.14: P = 0.05). This study adds to the evidence that, particularly for middle‐school boys and girls, inadequate sleep is a risk factor for early adolescent obesity. Future research needs to examine the relationship longitudinally and to study potential mediators of the relationship.