Fighting Fire With Fire: Using Industry Market Research to Identify Young Adults at Risk for Alternative Tobacco Product and Other Substance Use.

Limited public health research has used psychographic profiling to segment young adults and examine their substance use behaviors. We aimed to conduct market research to identify young adult market segments at risk for alternative tobacco products (ATPs), alcohol, and marijuana use. Substance use; psychographics per the Values, Attitudes, and Lifestyle Scale (VALS); and other key variables were assessed at baseline in a longitudinal study of 3,418 students aged 18-25 from seven colleges/universities in the state of Georgia. Cluster analysis was conducted on VALS factors to identify distinct segments. Regression examined segments in relation to substance use risk. Past 30-day use prevalence for each substance was as follows: cigarettes, 13.3%; little cigars/cigarillos (LCCs), 11.2%; smokeless tobacco (SLT), 3.6%; e-cigarettes, 10.9%; hookah, 12.2%; alcohol, 63.1%; and marijuana, 19.0%. Five segments were identified, created, and named: Conventionals, Simple Lifes, Open Minds, Confident Novelty-seekers, and Stoic Individualists. Controlling for sociodemographics, Open Minds, Confident Novelty-seekers, and Stoic Individualists (vs. Conventionals [referent]) were more likely to smoke cigarettes. Confident Novelty-seekers were more likely to use LCCs. Simple Lifes were less likely to use SLT. Open Minds and Confident Novelty-seekers were more likely to use e-cigarettes. Open Minds were more likely and Simple Lifes were less likely to use hookah. Open Minds were more likely to use alcohol; Simple Lifes and Stoic Individualists were less likely to use alcohol. Open Minds were more likely to use marijuana. Market research is an effective strategy for identifying young adults at risk for using distinct ATPs and can inform targeted health campaigns and cessation interventions.