A multidisciplinary journal that focuses on public health and technology, public health informatics, mass media campaigns, surveillance, and innovation in public health practice and research. Also dedicated to rapid open data sharing during epidemics.

American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) from the American Public Health Association (APHA) The Hemp Loophole: A Need to Clarify the Legality of Delta-8-THC and Other Hemp-Derived Tetrahydrocannabinol Compounds, an article from American Journal of Public Health, Vol Issue

Objective To compare trends in cigarette smoking and nicotine vaping among US population aged 17–18 years and 18–24 years. Methods Regression analyses identified trends in ever and current use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes, using three US representative surveys from 1992 to 2022. Results From 1997 to 2020, cigarette smoking prevalence among those aged 18–24 years decreased from 29.1% (95% CI 27.4% to 30.7%) to 5.4% (95% CI 3.9% to 6.9%). The decline was highly correlated with a decline in past 30-day smoking among those aged 17–18 years (1997: 36.8% (95% CI 35.6% to 37.9%; 2022: 3.0% (95% CI 1.8% to 4.1%). From 2017 to 2019, both ever-vaping and past 30-day nicotine vaping (11.0% to 25.5%) surged among those 17–18 years, however there was no increase among those aged 18–24 years. Regression models demonstrated that the surge in vaping was independent of the decline in cigarette smoking. In the 24 most populous US states, exclusive vaping did increase among those aged 18–24 years, from 1.7% to 4.0% to equivalent to 40% of the decline in cigarette smoking between 2014–15 and 2018–19. Across these US states, the correlation between the changes in vaping and smoking prevalence was low (r=0.11). In the two US states with >US$1/fluid mL tax on e-cigarettes in 2017, cigarette smoking declined faster than the US average. Conclusions Since 1997, a large decline in cigarette smoking occurred in the US population under age 24 years, that was independent of the 2017–19 adolescent surge in past 30-day e-cigarette vaping. Further research is needed to assess whether the 2014–15 to 2018–19 increase in exclusive vaping in those aged 18–24 years is a cohort effect from earlier dependence on e-cigarette vaping as adolescents.

Vaping products containing cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabis-derived compound used in wellness products and available in all 50 US states, were recently implicated in outbreaks of poisonings. Little is known about the commercial availability of CBD products in vape shops (i.e., stores that sell e-cigarettes). To document the availability and marketing of CBD products in online vape shops, in June 2020, we used the Google Chrome browser without cached data to collect the first two pages of search results generated by five Google queries (n = 100 search results) indicative of shopping for vaping products (e.g., “order vapes”). We then determined whether and what type of CBD products could be mail-ordered from the returned websites, and whether any explicit health claims were made about CBD. Over a third of the search results (n = 37; 37.0%) directed to vape shops that allowed visitors to also mail-order CBD. These shops sold 12 distinct categories of CBD products–some with direct analogs of tobacco or cannabis products including CBD cigarettes, edibles, flowers, pre-rolled joints, and vapes. Two vape shops made explicit health claims of the therapeutic benefits of CBD use, including in the treatment of anxiety, inflammation, pain, and stress. The abundance and placement of CBD in online vape shops suggests a growing demand and appeal for CBD products among e-cigarette users. Additional surveillance on the epidemiology of CBD use and its co-use with tobacco is warranted.