The Tobacco and Cannabis Retail Environment, Neighborhood Disadvantage, and Adolescent Vaping

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PROJECT SUMMARY There is a growing marketplace for e-cigarettes and legal cannabis vaping products that appeal to adolescents. Adolescent nicotine and cannabis vaping is prevalent, co-use of nicotine and cannabis vaping is common, and many youth purchase vaping products from physical retailers (e.g., vape shops and dispensaries). Greater density of tobacco and cannabis retailers around adolescents’ homes and schools may influence youth vaping initiation and dependence via increased access and exposure to marketing. Nicotine and cannabis vaping are intertwined, and the tobacco retail environment may influence youth cannabis vaping, and vice-versa. However, few studies have examined the effect of retailer density on youth nicotine and cannabis vaping, including whether tobacco retail density influences cannabis vaping, and whether cannabis dispensary density influences nicotine vaping. Data are also lacking on whether the impact of retailer density on youth cannabis and nicotine vaping is disproportionately higher among those living in disadvantaged neighborhoods, leading to disparities in cannabis and tobacco use. The goal of this Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award is to investigate the impact of the tobacco and cannabis retail environment and neighborhood disadvantage on adolescent nicotine and cannabis vaping, and to provide new training to prepare me for a career as an independent investigator with a focus on tobacco and cannabis regulatory science, and the ability to secure R01-level funding. I will use four years of data from an ongoing prospective cohort study of high school students in Southern CA (N~4,000), alongside data on licensed and unlicensed tobacco retailers and cannabis dispensaries, and census-block measures of neighborhood disadvantage to evaluate the project aims: (Aim 1) to examine the association of tobacco retailer and cannabis dispensary density with adolescent nicotine and cannabis vaping; (Aim 2) to assess the moderating role of individual- and neighborhood-disadvantage on the association of tobacco retailer and cannabis dispensary density with adolescent nicotine and cannabis vaping; and (Aim 3) to collect new data through in-depth store observations in a geographic subsample to identify specific store characteristics (e.g., marketing, minimum-age verification, product availability) that contribute to adolescent nicotine and cannabis vaping. Findings will provide critically needed information to policymakers considering new regulations that protect the public health of youth. This work will also inform future research on additional dimensions of tobacco and cannabis policies (e.g., home deliveries, pricing) and their impact on youth tobacco and cannabis use on a national level. This K01 leverages my existing expertise and addresses critical gaps in my training by providing new training in: 1) cannabis regulatory science; 2) socioecological determinants of youth tobacco and cannabis use; and 3) spatial analysis. I have worked closely with my mentors (selected based on their expertise in each training area) to develop an ambitious but feasible training plan that incorporates expert mentoring, coursework and seminars, scientific meetings, and continued development of grant writing and research dissemination skills.