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New, Emerging, and Traditional Tobacco Use in the Military

Principal Investigator: Robert C. Klesges

Funding Mechanism: National Institutes of Health - Grant

ID number: 1 R01 DA037273-01A1

Award Date: 7/13/2015

Institution: University of Tennessee Health Science Center

U.S. military personnel are highly vulnerable to tobacco use; currently, more than 30% of active duty military personnel use some type of tobacco product. Researchers will investigate military personnel perceptions, use of traditional, new and emerging tobacco products, and risk factors for use. Specifically, researchers will collect data on 30,000 Airmen, Air National Guard members, and reservists by administering a 97-item written survey at three timepoints (baseline, one year, two years) at the five largest U.S. Technical Training Air Forces Bases. Specific aims are: (1) to determine the prevalence and incidence of traditional, new and emerging, and multiple tobacco product use; (2) to determine social-cognitive (e.g., self-efficacy) and affective (e.g., perceptions, attitudes, beliefs) factors associated with the use of new and emerging tobacco products (such as e-cigarettes, hookah, cigars, and snus) and traditional tobacco products (e.g., smokeless tobacco, little cigars); (3) to evaluate perceptions and beliefs about risks and harms of tobacco product use; (4) to assess the association among awareness of tobacco marketing strategies (e.g., free samples of non-regulated products such as e-cigarettes, price promotions), receipt of information about tobacco products, and tobacco use behaviors; and (5) to directly compare tobacco initiation, resumption, and predictors of tobacco use between Airmen (who remain in active duty) and National Guard/reservists (who train and then return to civilian life). Findings will clarify the prevalence, incidence and diversity of tobacco product use in this highly-vulnerable population and may inform future regulatory activities.

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