E-cigarette initiation predicts subsequent academic performance among youth: Results from the PATH Study

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Health
• Tobacco Control
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Cigarette smoking is established as a risk factor for diminished academic achievement in adolescents.
• Emerging research is investigating the impact of novel tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes, on youth development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between initiating e-cigarette use and subsequent academic performance in young people.
• To determine if this association is independent of cigarette smoking initiation.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from Waves 2-4 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study.
• Inclusion of 4960 adolescents (12-15 years old) who were never tobacco users at Wave 2.
• Use of weighted multivariable linear regression to assess the relationship between tobacco initiation (e-cigarettes and cigarettes) at Wave 3 and academic performance at Wave 4, controlling for baseline covariates.

Main Results:

• 4.3% of youth initiated e-cigarette use and 1.9% initiated cigarette use at Wave 3.
• E-cigarette initiation was associated with lower academic performance at Wave 4 (adjusted regression coefficient [ARC] -0.22; 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.43, -0.02).
• Cigarette initiation was also significantly associated with lower academic performance (ARC -0.51; 95% CI -0.84, -0.18).

Conclusions:

• Initiation of e-cigarette use among U.S. youth is independently associated with lower academic performance.
• Both e-cigarette and cigarette initiation negatively impact subsequent academic outcomes.
• Further research is warranted to explore if preventing youth tobacco product use can improve academic performance.