Prospective estimation of the age of initiation of cigarettes among young adults (18-24 years old): Findings from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) waves 1-4 (2013-2017).

Objectives: To prospectively estimate the age of cigarette initiation among young adults (18-24 years old) who were never cigarette users at their first wave of adult study participation overall, by sex, and by race/ethnicity given recent increases in cigarette initiation occurring in young adulthood.

Methods: Secondary analyses were conducted using the PATH restricted-use adult datasets among young adult never users of cigarettes in waves 1-3 (2013-2016) with outcomes followed-up in waves 2-4 (2014-2017). Interval censoring survival methods were used to estimate the age of initiation of (i) ever, (ii) past 30-day, and (iii) fairly regular cigarette use.

Age at Initiation of Cigarette Use in a Nationally Representative Sample of US Youth, 2013-2017.

Importance: Cigarettes are still a commonly used tobacco product among youth despite recent declines in cigarette use.

Objective: The aim of this study was to prospectively estimate the age of cigarette use initiation among youth (aged 12-17 years) overall, by sex, and by race/ethnicity.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study used data from waves 1 through 4 of the nationally representative Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study, conducted from September 12, 2013, to January 3, 2018.