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Examination of Lifetime Established Use Criteria for Adult Tobacco Product Users (305323)
Thaddaeus Hannel, Altria Client Services LLC
Edward Largo, Altria Client Services LLC
Raheema Muhammad-Kah, Altria Client Services LLC
*Lai Wei, Altria Client Services LLC
Keywords: established tobacco use, experimental tobacco use, tobacco product use behavior, tobacco product transition patterns
Lifetime consumption criteria are essential to distinguish experimental and established use in tobacco research; however, these criteria are not widely established for tobacco product categories other than cigarettes. We analyzed Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study data to examine the level of agreement based on Cohen's Kappa coefficients between the numerical (having used 20/50/100 times) and non-numerical (having used fairly regularly) criteria for tobacco product users. Recommendations of numerical criteria are provided given level of agreement with differences noted in reporting patterns between the two measures. Lastly, by applying the recommended criteria, we observed significant differences in sociodemographic, tobacco product use and transition patterns based on logistic regression models and generalized estimating equations (GEEs) when comparing established tobacco users with experimenters. In conclusion, lifetime consumption criteria should be applied in tobacco research to better understand tobacco use behaviors, and various considerations should be taken when selecting between numerical and non-numerical criteria to define established use.