Prospective estimation of the age of initiation of hookah use among youth: Findings from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study waves 1-4 (2013-2017)

Abstract Objective This study reports the prospectively estimated age of initiation of susceptibility to, ever, past 30-day, and fairly regular hookah use. Design Secondary data analyses of the first four waves (2013–2017) of the PATH study, a nationally representative longitudinal cohort study of US youth (ages 12–17). Methods Youth who were never hookah users at their first wave of participation were identified (n = 16,678; N = 31,136,834). Four outcomes were analyzed, age of first report of: (i) susceptibility to use, (ii) ever use, (iii) past 30-day use, and (iv) fairly regular hookah use. The age of hookah initiation of each outcome was estimated. Weighted interval censoring survival analyses and Cox regression models were conducted to estimate the age of initiation of each hookah use outcome, and to estimate differences in age of initiation by sex and by race, respectively. Results Around 11% of youth were classified as susceptible to hookah use by 13 years of age, 8% reported initiating ever hookah use by age 17, almost 10% reported initiating past 30-day hookah use by age 19, and 3% reported initiating fairly regular hookah use by age 20. Females and Hispanics were at higher risk of becoming susceptible to and ever hookah use at earlier ages compared to males and Non-Hispanic White youth. Conclusion Education, communication campaigns, and proven culturally targeted tobacco interventions that reach youth at ages before they first become susceptible or start using hookah use are needed to prevent the onset of hookah use among vulnerable youth.