How oral nicotine products and e-cigarettes affect teens and young adults' tobacco use

Project 2

NIH-funded research University of Southern California · NIH-11164649

This project follows teens and young adults to see if using oral nicotine products or e-cigarettes makes them start or increase cigarette or vaping use.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniversity of Southern California NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Los Angeles, UNITED STATES)
Project IDNIH-11164649 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

If you join, you'll complete short surveys every six months about which nicotine products you use, how often, and what flavors and nicotine strengths you prefer. The study extends an existing group of about 2,619 adolescents into young adulthood and will enroll a new group of about 2,500 teens who will be followed from age 14 to 18. Surveys include a discrete choice task that measures implicit flavor and nicotine preferences, along with questions about smoking, vaping, and dependence symptoms. Researchers will compare whether early use of oral nicotine products and e-cigarettes is followed by starting or escalating e-cigarette and combustible tobacco use.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal participants are adolescents (around ages 14–18) and young adults from the ongoing cohort, including both current nicotine users and non-users.

Not a fit: Older adults outside the adolescent/young adult age range or people not enrolled in the study cohorts are unlikely to benefit directly from participating.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the results could help shape policies and prevention efforts to reduce youth uptake and dependence on nicotine products.

How similar studies have performed: Previous youth cohort studies have linked e-cigarette use to later cigarette smoking, but studies focused on oral nicotine products and implicit preference testing are relatively new.

Where this research is happening

Los Angeles, UNITED STATES

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.