We appreciate Dr. Glantz’s comment that our paper “Divergence in Cigarette Discontinuation Rates by Use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS): Longitudinal Findings From the United States PATH Study Waves 1–6”1 is well done.2 Our descriptive paper reports differences in real-world trends in population-level cigarette discontinuation rates across 2013/2014–2021, comparing US adults who smoked combustible cigarettes and used ENDS with US adults who smoked combustible cigarettes and did not use ENDS (regardless of other tobacco product use). We found that the relationship between adults’ ENDS use and cigarette discontinuation in the context of an expanded ENDS marketplace, new tobacco regulatory actions, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) differs from the relationship in earlier years.
The richness of the PATH Study data, with its longitudinal design, large sample size, national representativeness, biomarker data, and detailed assessment of tobacco product use, is a great resource to address a wide range of questions relevant to tobacco research. As of December 2023, the research community has published 737 papers using the PATH Study data or methods.3
Dr. Glantz’s letter highlights research on a topic different from ours—assessing the disease impact of e-cigarettes through changes in cigarette smoking behavior. The unique longitudinal PATH Study design is advantageous for assessing longer-term patterns of e-cigarette exposure to predict new onset of disease while controlling for critical confounders like age, amount of past cigarette exposure, and recency of past cigarette exposure. This is important research to be done.
The PATH Study has made every effort to make all data sets and associated documentation available to all researchers as soon as possible. As of this writing, the Restricted Use Files are available to researchers through Wave 7 and the Public Use Files for Wave 7 will be available to all in late 2024. Linked exposure and potential harm biomarker data are also available to investigators. An array of documentation and training videos are available to help people make the best use of the PATH Study data resources. New data files and materials are continually being released. All of these materials are available to the research community through the National Addiction and HIV Data Archive Program (https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/NAHDAP/studies/36231). The PATH Study data can be used to address the question posed by Dr. Glantz in his letter and many other vital tobacco research questions—we encourage people to use the freely available data to do so.
Contributor Information
Karin A Kasza, Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA.
Zhiqun Tang, Behavioral Health and Health Policy, Westat, Rockville, MD, USA.
Young Sik Seo, Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA.
Adam F Benson, Center for Tobacco Products, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
MeLisa R Creamer, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Kathryn C Edwards, Behavioral Health and Health Policy, Westat, Rockville, MD, USA.
Colm Everard, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Joanne T Chang, Center for Tobacco Products, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Yu-Ching Cheng, Center for Tobacco Products, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Babita Das, Center for Tobacco Products, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Olusola Oniyide, Center for Tobacco Products, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Nicole A Tashakkori, Center for Tobacco Products, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Anna-Sophie Weidner, Center for Tobacco Products, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Haijun Xiao, Center for Tobacco Products, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Cassandra A Stanton, Behavioral Health and Health Policy, Westat, Rockville, MD, USA.
Heather L Kimmel, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Wilson Compton, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Andrew Hyland, Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA.
Funding
This manuscript is supported by federal funds from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Health and Human Services, under contract to Westat (contract nos. HHSN271201100027C and HHSN271201600001C), through an interagency agreement between NIH NIDA and FDA CTP.
Declaration of Interests
WC reports long-term stock holdings in General Electric Company, 3M Company, and Pfizer Incorporated, unrelated to this manuscript.
Author Contributions
Karin Kasza (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—original draft [equal]), Zhiqun Tang (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Young Sik Seo (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Adam Benson (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), MeLisa Creamer (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Katy Edwards (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Colm Everard (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Joanne Chang (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Yu-Ching Cheng (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Babita Das (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Olusola Oniyide (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Nicole Tashakkori (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Anna-Sophie Weidner (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Haijun Xiao (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Cassandra Stanton (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Heather Kimmel (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Wilson Compton (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), and Andrew Hyland (Conceptualization [equal], Writing—original draft [equal])
Disclaimer
The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the PATH Study Team and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or any of its affiliated institutions or agencies. MRC, HLK, and WC were substantially involved in the scientific management of and providing scientific expertise for contract nos. HHSN271201100027C and HSN271201600001C.
References
- 1. Kasza KA, Tang Z, Seo YS, et al. Divergence in cigarette discontinuation rates by use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS): longitudinal findings from the United States PATH study waves 1–6. Nicotine Tob Res. 2024. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntae027 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2. Glantz SA. Are fourth generation e-cigarettes reducing disease in the population? Nicotine Tob Res. 2024. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntae125 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3. Hyland A, Edwards K, Garcia-Rosales K, et al. on behalf of the PATH Study Team. Biomarkers of tobacco exposure and potential harm among youth and adults who use ENDS: Waves 1–5 (2013–2019) of the PATH Study. 2024 Annual Meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. Edinburgh, Scotland, 2024.