UW-CTRI researchers this month will begin recruiting participants for a 5-year research study on smokers and those who vape e-cigarettes plus smoke combustible cigarettes. Beginning in early September, UW-CTRI will run paid advertising on Facebook to encourage participation, and UW-CTRI Associate Director of Research Dr. Megan Piper will appear on CW 57 in Madison to spread the word.
Researchers will identify and track over time 150 participants who exclusively smoke cigarettes and 250 participants who both smoke and vape. Researchers will use smart phones and other tools to collect information on patterns of use of these products, levels of addiction, withdrawal symptoms, success quitting versus relapse, lifestyle factors, carcinogen exposure, and how one group of participants compares to the other over time.
This new research will provide in-depth, long-term information based on real-time reports. This research will provide essential information to inform regulatory bodies, as well as researchers, clinicians, and tobacco users, about the patterns of real-world e-cig use and how such use is related to conventional smoking and the health risks caused by it.
The study is supported by a $3.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute and Food and Drug Administration. Piper and UW-CTRI Director of Clinical Services Dr. Doug Jorenby serve as principal investigators and Kate Kobinsky is the study coordinator.