The study titled, “Youth tobacco and cannabis use and co-use: Associations with daily exposure to tobacco marketing within activity spaces and by travel patterns,” examined daily locations of youth, their travel patterns, and their exposure to tobacco retail marketing, with the aim of determining how these affected their tobacco and cannabis use and co-use.
One hundred participants ages ranging from 16 to 20 completed 1,060 daily assessments using GPS-enabled smartphones with a survey application. The compiled responses indicated that perceived exposure to tobacco marketing was associated with co-use of tobacco and cannabis on a given day, and that this association was more common among youth who walked/biked/skated more.
“In mixed effects multinomial regression models, perceived exposure to tobacco marketing was associated with co-use of tobacco and cannabis on a given day. Although perceived exposure to tobacco marketing was not associated with tobacco use only, moderation analysis indicated that the likelihood of tobacco use was greater among youth who walked/biked/skated more.”
The need for marketing restrictions
Lead study author Dr. Sharon Lipperman-Kreda said that the study highlights the need for marketing restrictions. “This study highlights the importance of policies and interventions addressing young people’s exposure to and perception of exposure to tobacco marketing at the point of sale in the broader environment to reduce tobacco and cannabis use and co-use.”
US Judge Rules Against Juul and Altria in Youth Marketing Lawsuit