Is nicotine vaping associated with subsequent initiation of cannabis or other substances from adolescence into young adulthood?

Abstract

Prior studies estimating longitudinal associations between nicotine vaping and subsequent initiation of cannabis and other substances (e.g., cocaine, heroin) have been limited by short follow-up periods, convenience sampling, and possibly inadequate confounding control. We sought to address some of these gaps using the nationally representative Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study (PATH) to estimate longitudinal associations between nicotine vaping and the initiation of cannabis or other substances among adolescents transitioning to adulthood from2013 to 2019, adjusting for treatment-confounder feedback. Estimands like the longitudinal average treatment effect were not identified because of extensive practical positivity violations. Therefore, we estimated longitudinal incremental propensity score effects, which were identified. We found that reduced odds of nicotine vaping were associated with decreased risks of cannabis or other substance initiation; these associations strengthened over time. For example, by the final wave (2018-19), cannabis and other substance initiation risks were 6.2 (95%CI:4.6-7.7) and 1.8 (95%CI:0.4-3.2) percentage points lower when odds of nicotine vaping were reduced to be 90% lower in all preceding waves (2013-14 to 2016-18), as compared with observed risks. Strategies to lower nicotine vaping prevalence during this period may have resulted in fewer young people initiating cannabis and other substances.