{"id":5259,"date":"2023-10-31T11:07:47","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T18:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/20-million-grant-from-the-national-cancer-institute-enables-research-into-youth-e-cigarette-and-oral-nicotine-use-at-usc\/"},"modified":"2023-11-19T12:58:50","modified_gmt":"2023-11-19T20:58:50","slug":"20-million-grant-from-the-national-cancer-institute-enables-research-into-youth-e-cigarette-and-oral-nicotine-use-at-usc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/20-million-grant-from-the-national-cancer-institute-enables-research-into-youth-e-cigarette-and-oral-nicotine-use-at-usc\/","title":{"rendered":"$20 million grant from the National Cancer Institute enables research into youth e-cigarette and oral nicotine use at USC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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$20 million grant from the National Cancer Institute enables research into youth e-cigarette and oral nicotine use at USC<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Federal funding advances research by the USC Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science to guide policy regulating tobacco products and marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n

\n Wayne Lewis<\/span>\n \n October 31, 2023<\/span>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
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USC faculty members Adam Leventhal, PhD and Caryn Lerman, PhD have received a $20\u00a0million grant for research to inform government regulations overseeing tobacco and its marketing, with a focus on protecting young people. The USC Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science<\/a> (TCORS), an interdisciplinary initiative led by the USC Institute for Addiction Science<\/a> (IAS), USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center<\/a> and the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences<\/a> at the Keck School of Medicine of USC<\/a>, is one of seven programs nationwide to receive funding provided jointly by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). USC TCORS was launched in 2013 with FDA and NIH support and was renewed in 2018. This new grant continues the center through 2028.<\/p>\n

With the new federal funding, USC TCORS expands its portfolio to focus on the ways a range of tobacco products other than conventional cigarettes are used by and marketed to young people. These products include e-cigarettes and commercially marketed flavored nicotine pouches, gums, lozenges and gummies. The center\u2019s role is to provide rigorous evidence that guides FDA action in response to a fast-changing landscape of tobacco product offerings \u2014 and trends among adolescents and young adults.<\/p>\n

\u201cMulti-study center grants like this are critical to pushing the field forward,\u201d said USC TCORS co-director Adam Leventhal, PhD, professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine and director of the USC IAS. \u201cA center like TCORS is more than the sum of its parts. By connecting different types of research, we can uncover a body of evidence that fits together to surpass the high threshold that the FDA requires to change federal policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gathering the evidence to prevent harm to youth<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exposure to nicotine and other chemicals in e-cigarettes may interfere with the development of brain pathways that control attention, concentration and mood. Sound policy that minimizes use of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products among young people can have long-lasting health benefits on a large scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cReducing exposure to novel nicotine products through evidence-based regulation is vital to improve health,\u201d said USC TCORS co-director Caryn Lerman, director of USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and associate dean for Cancer Programs. \u201cUSC TCORS researchers have a unique opportunity to influence policy that supports the well-being of generations yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

E-cigarettes and oral products can contain high levels of nicotine, promoting addiction, and are marketed in youth-attracting fruity flavors. Messages and marketing that glamorize these products often reach young people through social media platforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdolescents see their peers, social media \u2018friends\u2019 and attractive strangers using tobacco products,\u201d said Jennifer Unger, PhD, lead for one of the TCORS projects and professor and vice chair for faculty development in the Keck School\u2019s Department of Population and Public Health Sciences. \u201cIn these posts, tobacco products are often paired with themes such as being popular, being attractive and having fun. This makes adolescents think that many of their peers use and approve of tobacco products, and that using tobacco will help them socially.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Policymakers charged with developing regulations that protect youth from social media marketing by the tobacco industry rely on research on social media influences, like the studies that Unger and her team will embark upon in USC TCORS.<\/p>\n

Multifaceted regulatory research and forward-looking training<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grant-supported research in collaboration with partner institutions in USC TCORS will explore how e-cigarettes and oral nicotine products affect young people. The center will also examine how that impact is amplified by flavors and other characteristics of these products, as well as the marketing approaches that make them attractive to youth. Studies will consider factors such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status.<\/p>\n

\u201cA new policy may bring down tobacco use rates, but sometimes certain communities don\u2019t see the same degree of reduction, which can perpetuate unfortunate health disparities,\u201d said Chanita Hughes Halbert, PhD, holder of the Dr. Arthur and Priscilla Ulene Chair in Women\u2019s Cancer, associate director for cancer equity at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, and professor and vice chair of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine. \u201cWe\u2019re studying the impact of factors such as product types and marketing strategies across these diverse communities so we know upfront that any resulting policies won\u2019t have uneven benefits for different groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investigations include four major projects:<\/p>\n