Background: Interventions to discourage use of tobacco products among children and adolescents may help decrease tobacco-related illness. Tobacco products for this review include electronic nicotine delivery systems, often referred to as e-cigarettes.
Purpose: To systematically update the 2013 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) review on primary care relevant interventions for tobacco use prevention and cessation in children and adolescents.
Data Sources: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and EMBASE (September 1, 2012 to June 25, 2019) with surveillance through February 7, 2020.
Study Selection: We selected primary care relevant studies based on inclusion and exclusion criteria developed for each key question. We included randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials of children and adolescents up to 18 years of age for cessation and 25 years of age for prevention. Trials that compared behavioral or pharmacological interventions with a no or minimal smoking intervention control group (e.g., usual care, attention control, wait list) were included.
Data Extraction: One investigator abstracted data and a second investigator checked data abstraction for accuracy. Two investigators independently assessed study quality using methods developed by the USPSTF.
Data Synthesis (Results): Twenty-six trials met inclusion criteria. Behavioral interventions were associated with decreased likelihood of smoking initiation compared with control interventions (k=13, n=21,700; 7.4% vs. 9.2%; relative risk [RR] 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73 to 0.92). In trials restricted to smokers, behavioral interventions had no effect on smoking prevalence (k=9, n=2,516, 80.7% vs. 84.1% continued smoking, RR 0.97, 95% CI, 0.93 to 1.01). Behavioral interventions were more effective than control interventions at decreasing smoking prevalence in trials of smokers and nonsmokers (k=7, n=10,533; 16.8% vs. 20.1%; RR 0.91, 95% CI, 0.83 to 0.995). However, these results were sensitive to inclusion of two trials of very intensive interventions. Two trials of bupropion and one trial of nicotine replacement therapy found no significant benefits of medication on likelihood of smoking cessation. One trial each found no evidence for a beneficial intervention effect on health outcomes or on adult smoking.
Limitations: Few trials addressed the prevention or cessation of tobacco products other than cigarettes; no trials evaluated effects of interventions on e-cigarette use. Trials of pharmacotherapy were few and had small sample sizes.
Conclusions: Behavioral interventions can reduce the likelihood of smoking initiation in nonsmoking youth and young adults. Research is needed to identify effective behavioral interventions for youth who smoke or who use other tobacco products and to understand the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy on cessation. Due to the rapid escalation of e-cigarette use among youth, both prevention and cessation trials that target and/or include e-cigarettes are imminently needed.