Awareness and use of tobacco products among underage individuals: findings from the altria client services underage tobacco use survey 2020-2022

Tobacco use among underage individuals is a public health concern. Timely data about tobacco products, especially emerging products such as novel oral nicotine products (NPs), can provide critical information for the prevention of underage tobacco use. With a recent federal law raising the legal age of purchase of tobacco products from 18 to 21, it is of interest to benchmark awareness and use of tobacco products in the new underage population, young adults 18-20 years old. This study provides estimates on awareness and use of tobacco products among underage individuals 13-20 years old during May 2020 to August 2022 in the United States. Altria Client Services Underage Tobacco Use Survey (UTUS) is a repeated cross-sectional survey conducted every quarter-year. A stratified random sampling approach was used to draw nationally representative samples of household dwelling individuals 13-20 years old. Information about the awareness and use of tobacco products was obtained via online self-administration or phone interviews after a consent/assent process. A sizable portion of underage individuals were aware of NPs (~ 40% among youth and ~ 50% among underage young adults), although past 30-day use was low (