Advancing Tobacco Regulatory Science to Reduce Health Disparities

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ABSTRACT: OVERALL The US has made decades of progress in reducing cigarette smoking, but notable disparities persist in menthol flavored product use and in the use of non-cigarette tobacco products, including little cigars, cigarillos, and e- cigarettes. We propose the U54 Program Project, “Advancing Tobacco Regulatory Science to Reduce Health Disparities” to address this gap. The Integrative Theme of our UNC TCORS is building the science for effective regulation of and communication about tobacco products disproportionately used by priority populations – flavored tobacco products and e-cigarettes. Our integrated set of four Research Projects seek to understand the impact of regulations and communication campaigns on those disadvantaged by tobacco use disparities, including Black; lower-socioeconomic status (SES); and lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) populations; and youth and young adults. Our ultimate goal is to further FDA and NIH efforts to protect public health through regulation of tobacco products. UNC TCORS’ research will provide essential evidence to guide the FDA as it implements bans on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, develops communication campaigns, and addresses the youth vaping epidemic. We propose four Specific Aims: 1) Develop and evaluate the impact of communication campaigns to discourage tobacco product use in diverse populations (Projects 1, 2, 4); 2) Understand the public health impact of flavored tobacco product bans in diverse populations and the conditions under which they are most likely to be most effective (Projects 2 and 3); 3) Build trainees’ capacity to contribute to the field of tobacco regulatory science through training, mentorship, and pilot funding for a diverse and multidisciplinary group of pre-doctoral fellows, post-doctoral fellows, and early-stage investigators (Projects 1-4, Career Enhancement Core); 4) Inform FDA regulation of menthol cigarette and flavored cigar bans and communication campaigns through active dissemination of TCORS scientific findings (Projects 1-4, Administrative Core). Project 1 will develop a novel communication campaign to discourage young adult little cigar and cigarillo use. Project 2 will evaluate whether a menthol cigarette ban could be amplified by a quit smoking campaign to help menthol smokers quit, including Black and LGB smokers. Project 3 will build a microsimulation model to estimate the public health impact of a federal flavored cigar ban on tobacco use, mortality, and health disparities. Project 4 will test the ability of vaping prevention video ads with promising features to reduce susceptibility to vaping among youth and young adults. The Research Projects will receive support from two Cores: Administrative and Career Enhancement (which includes Pilot Research Projects). Our multidisciplinary group of seasoned regulatory science researchers will provide actionable information to inform FDA regulations and communication campaigns.