U of A sociologist received $2.8M grant to research nicotine product use among adolescents in the US and Mexico

Diego Leal, a University of Arizona researcher in the Department of Sociology, will serve as one of two Principal Investigators for a $2.8M grant funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) within the National Institute of Health (NIH). The grant will fund research into adolescent nicotine product use among high school students in Tijuana, Guadalajara, and Los Angeles. 

Cigarette use among adolescents has declined significantly over the past few decades, but the rise of e-cigarettes, such as vapes, has threatened that progress. Leal’s research focuses on modeling adolescents’ social networks. Using both in-person friendships and social media interactions, Leal’s team extends theories and evidence on the social determinants of health behaviors related to nicotine product use.   

Prior research on the topic focuses on developed countries and has found that e-cigarette and traditional tobacco product use is similar among ‘best friends,’ or people you have strong ties to. Surprisingly, there is almost no research on this topic around people you have weak ties to, such as online social interactions, which inundate the social life of adolescents today.

Due to ethical limitations, there is a lack of experimental research analyzing the consumption of nicotine products, especially as it relates to adolescents. Leal and his team are bypassing this limitation by using Agent-Based Modeling (ABM), a kind of computer simulation that is employed to emulate reality, allowing for the study of interactions between people and their behaviors, without harming participants. 

To inform the simulation, Leal’s team will collect data from 5,000-8,000 high school students across 12 different schools in Tijuana, Guadalajara, and Los Angeles. The team will survey these same students every semester for two and a half years. 

“Data collection is always the most expensive part of any study,” Leal said, “It’s people power that we need, that is where the money from this grant is going.”

Eventually, Leal would like to make policy recommendations to stakeholders such as school principals as to what might be useful in reducing nicotine product use. 

Through the support of U of A’s School of Sociology in the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Charlie Pollard, a third-year doctoral student, was brought onto the project in the summer of 2023 and has been invaluable in the preparation of the study. 

Pollard’s work largely consists of helping with statistical modeling, expanding the literature incorporated into the grant writing, proofing the document, and ensuring that everything written is consistent and correct. “It has been such an enriching experience to see Leal’s success and be part of the team,” Pollard said, “To see the culmination of so many people’s work and the real-world impacts that come from this study has been truly rewarding.” 

In March of 2025, Leal and his team will begin collecting the first wave of data from students in Mexico. “My family has a history of smoking, I know what it’s like to see someone’s health deteriorate because of it,” Leal said, “Health hazards related to nicotine use are vast, if we can stop just one person from smoking, that is a win in my book.”