Dr Gary Chan presents "The impact of tobacco control policies on adolescent vaping in 44 lower-middle, upper-middle, and high-income countries"

Recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Du2-y0sKemMal21FZy0x2ClWElsuNuz3/view?usp=sharing

Introduction and Aims:
Global tobacco policies are guided by the WHO FrameworkConvention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The WHO MPOWER is a package of 6 evidence-based demand reduction measures recommended in the FCTC. The six measures were monitoring, smoke-free policy, cessation programs, warning messages, advertising ban and taxation. This study examined the implementation of MPOWER on youth vaping in 49 countries.
Design and Methods:
Data were from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, a WHO initiative that used standard methodology to collect data from school aged students(typically age 13-15) to monitor youth tobacco use. The key measure was past-30-day vaping (Yes/No) and past-30-day frequent vaping (>30 days; Yes/No). Data collected between 2015 and 2018 from 49 countries were used (Ntotal>120,000). Measures on the implementation level of MPOWER were sourced from the WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic.
Results:
The overall prevalence of past-30-days vaping was 8.6% (ranged from 2.4% inCooks Island to 26.5% in Poland). Most of the current implementation demand reduction measures (e.g. advertising ban, cessation service, etc) was not associated with vaping. High tobacco tax was associated with higher past-30-day vaping and past-30-day frequent vaping (OR = 2.7, 99.5% CI = (1.3, 5.7) and OR = 6.6, 99.5% CI = (2.1,20.2)).
Discussions and Conclusions:
Most MPOWER measures were not effective in discouraging youth vaping uptake. Higher tobacco tax was associated with higher odds of vaping.
Implications for Practice or Policy:
To discourage youth vaping, the current MPOWER measures will need to specifically include vaping. Tax will need to be applied to vaping products to deter youth uptake.