Briefly Noted

Internalizing and externalizing problems predicted onset of any tobacco use in youth; however, findings differed for internalizing and externalizing problems across tobacco products, researchers found in analyzing the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study of 12‐ to 24‐year‐old never‐users. Self‐reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms were assessed at wave 1 (45,971 subjects), and past‐12‐month use of tobacco products was assessed at wave 2 (38,443 subjects). The researchers found that high‐severity internalizing symptoms at wave 1 increased the risk by 1.5 times of using tobacco by wave 2, and that high‐severity externalizing problems increased the risk of tobacco use by 1.3 times at wave 2. Low‐ and moderate‐severity problems did not predict tobacco onset. The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Food and Drug Administration. Several authors declared conflicts of interest — one as an expert witness in a lawsuit against the tobacco industry. The article, “Mental Health Problems and Onset of Tobacco Use Among 12‐ to 24‐Year‐Olds in the PATH Study,” was published in the December 2018 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry .