Monitoring the Future: Drug Use & Lifestyles of American Youth (Supp1: Nicotine Pouch and E-cigarette Use Among US Adolescents: National Estimates of Brand Use and Flavor Preferences)

Abstract Nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes are two of the most prominent nicotine products that adolescents use today. The prevalence of adolescent nicotine pouch use doubled from 2023 to 2024, and e-cigarettes currently rank in the top three substances used by adolescents, alongside alcohol and marijuana. We propose to collect data on the brands and flavors of nicotine pouches that teens use, as well as the brands, flavors, and device types of e-cigarettes that teens use. To do so, we will add questions on these topics to a randomly selected half of the annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey, which annually collects three independent, nationally representative samples of U.S. 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students and has a total sample size exceeding 25,000 respondents. The large sample will allow us to analyze if the distribution of brands and flavors varies across demographic groups. Findings from this research can inform regulatory strategies that focus on specific brands and flavors contributing to youth uptake, rather than imposing broad restrictions on entire product categories. Ultimately, the results can inform policies that incentivize companies to minimize youth access while preserving access for adults seeking smoking cessation tools.