By Audrey Post
FSU College of Medicine
Three Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine (BSSM) faculty members and three medical students recently published an article in Public Health Reports about e-cigarette use among adolescents.
“Evaluating the Impact of the Federal Tobacco 21 Legislation on Adolescent E-Cigarette Use and Risk Perceptions” was led by faculty members Karen Geletko, MPH, Jons Mills, Ph.D., and Jeffrey Harman, Ph.D. It included contributions from two current students and one recent graduate – Natalie Dix, (M.D. Class of 2026), Meghana Bomma, (M.D. Class of 2028), and Aidan Price, (M.D. Class of 2028).
Their research concluded that “federal legislation, such as increasing the minimum age for purchasing tobacco and nicotine products, may be an effective strategy in reducing and preventing e-cigarette use among adolescents. Future research should assess the sustainability of the effects of T21 legislation over time and examine how federal policies interact with other public health interventions to influence adolescent e-cigarette use.”
The authors received no external funding for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Geletko, the lead author, is Research Faculty I within the FSU Area Health Education Center, which was created as part of the legislation creating the College of Medicine. It focuses on critical areas in public health, including tobacco use.
Faculty in both BSSM and the Department of Biomedical Sciences, the two research departments within the Florida State University College of Medicine, routinely mentor students and welcome them into their research. This reflects the college’s commitment to expanding meaningful research opportunities for students early in their training.
