Scope

Young adults have high rates of smoking and other tobacco product use. The neighborhood context is a potentially critical determinant of tobacco use among young adults, but more evidence is needed on which aspects of the neighborhood most affect tobacco use. Understanding the connection between the neighborhood environment and tobacco use is essential to inform tobacco control policies and regulations such as limiting tobacco outlet density and decisions on where to allow tobacco retail outlets or vape shops.

What we did

We are conducting an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) study in combination with collecting data on daily mobility patterns to study young adults’ exposure to different aspects of the neighborhoods they live in (e.g., point-of-sale advertisements in tobacco outlets and vape shops) and the impact of this exposure on their tobacco use urges and behaviors.

Implications

This project will advance knowledge on the effect of neighborhood factors on young adults’ tobacco use to inform tobacco control policy and advance research methodology by using novel data collection methods to investigate substance use behavior in everyday life.

More information

For more information about Dr. Johannes Thrul and Dr. Louisa Holmes's project, please visit: http://readi.ucsf.edu/current-projects

To contact a study team member, please email: Johannes Thrul at [email protected]