Jennifer Cantrell

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Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Jennifer Cantrell, DrPH, MPA, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the NYU School of Global Public Health. Her research investigates emerging trends in tobacco and nicotine use and industry marketing, and explores clinical, countermarketing and policy interventions to diminish tobacco's appeal and promote health equity.

Dr. Cantrell currently leads a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded grant (R01CA268932) that uses Multiphase Optimization STrategy (MOST) to optimize cessation treatment for smokers living with HIV in clinical care. This study uses MOST, implementation science and decision analysis to test four interventions targeting multilevel barriers to quitting for people living with HIV, with the aim of developing a cost-effective, scalable and sustainable treatment package delivered in HIV clinical care. In other funded research, Dr. Cantrell uses diverse data sources and methods to explore evolving tobacco and nicotine use patterns and the commercial determinants that drive use. Her research also examines innovative digital counter-marketing strategies with a focus on achieving optimal exposure levels and effective counter-messaging.

Dr. Cantrell is a Co-Investigator with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded R25 training grant on Optimization of Behavioral and Biobehavioral Interventions (PI: Linda Collins). She is Chair of Early Career Faculty Outreach for the NYU Center for the Advancement and Dissemination of Intervention Optimization (CADIO), which trains investigators in intervention optimization methodologies worldwide. She has also served on the Advisory Committees for the Treatment Network and the Health Equity Network for the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. Dr. Cantrell has published over 70 scientific articles and co-authored a chapter on “Communication, Marketing and Tobacco-related Disparities” in the NCI Monograph 22: A Socioecological Approach to Tobacco-related Disparities. Her research has been published in the American Journal of Public Health, Addiction, Nicotine & Tobacco Research and other leading journals, and featured in media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and The Boston Globe. She also received the highly competitive National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program award from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities for her work on tobacco disparities and health equity.

Prior to joining NYU GPH, Dr. Cantrell was a Managing Director and Scientist at Truth Initiative, a national non-profit research and education organization focused on tobacco use prevention and cessation, where she evaluated and conducted research on national anti-smoking mass media efforts, including the award-winning truth® campaign and the Centers for Disease Control’s Tips for Former Smokers campaign. As part of this work, she led the development of the winning proposal for the 2017 Berreth Award for Excellence in Public Health Communication. She earned her DrPH from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and her MPA from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. She completed postdoctoral training in the NIDA program for Behavioral Science Training in Drug Abuse Research at National Development Research Institutes in New York, NY.

Areas of research and study

Alcohol, Tobacco and Driving Policies

Behavioral Science

Health Disparities

Population Health

Public Health Policy

Social Behaviors

Social epidemiology

Publications

Acceptability of a Telehealth Smoking Harm Reduction Intervention Using E-cigarettes Among Cigarette Smokers With Opioid Use Disorder: A Qualitative Analysis

Design and Baseline Evaluation of Social Media Vaping Prevention Trial: Randomized Controlled Trial Study

Pathway from Exposure to an E-Cigarette Prevention Social Media Campaign to Increased Quitting Intentions: A Randomized Trial Among Young Adult E-Cigarette Users

Physical Activity, Cigarette Smoking, and Depression Among People with HIV

Testing certain and uncertain incentives on study retention in a longitudinal social media survey among young adults: An embedded recruitment trial

Effects of a Social Media Intervention on Vaping Intentions: Randomized Dose-Response Experiment

Longitudinal association between e-cigarette use and respiratory symptoms among US adults: Findings from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study Waves 4–5

Karey, E., Xu, S., He, P., Niaura, R. S., Cleland, C. M., Stevens, E. R., Sherman, S. E., El-Shahawy, O., Cantrell, J., & Jiang, N. (n.d.).

Publication year

2024

Journal title

PloS one

Volume

Issue

10.1371/journal.pone.0299834

Abstract

Abstract

Background We assessed longitudinal effects of e-cigarette use on respiratory symptoms in a nationally representative sample of US adults by combustible tobacco smoking status. Methods We analyzed Waves 4–5 public-use data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. Study sample included adult respondents who reported no diagnosis of respiratory diseases at Wave 4, and completed Waves 4–5 surveys with no missing data on analytic variables (N = 15,291). Outcome was a validated index of functionally important respiratory symptoms based on 7 wheezing/cough questions (range 0–9). An index score of 2 was defined as having important respiratory symptoms. Weighted lagged logistic regression models were performed to examine the association between e-cigarette use status at Wave 4 (former/current vs. never use) and important respiratory symptoms at Wave 5 by combustible tobacco smoking status (i.e., never/former/current smokers), adjusting for Wave 4 respiratory symptom index, sociodemographic characteristics, secondhand smoke exposure, body mass index, and chronic disease. Results Among current combustible tobacco smokers, e-cigarette use was associated with increased odds of reporting important respiratory symptoms (former e-cigarette use: adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.39, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07–1.81; current e-cigarette use: AOR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.17–2.06). Among former combustible tobacco smokers, former e-cigarette use (AOR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.06–2.15)—but not current e-cigarette use (AOR = 1.59, 95% CI: 0.91–2.78)—was associated with increased odds of important respiratory symptoms. Among never combustible tobacco smokers, no significant association was detected between e-cigarette use and important respiratory symptoms (former e-cigarette use: AOR = 1.62, 95% CI: 0.76–3.46; current e-cigarette use: AOR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.27–2.56). Conclusions The association between e-cigarette use and respiratory symptoms varied by combustible tobacco smoking status. Current combustible tobacco smokers who use e-cigarettes have an elevated risk of respiratory impairments.

Evaluation of response to incentive recruitment strategies in a social media-based survey

Perceptions of and Experiences With Cigarette and E-Cigarette Use Among a Diverse Population of US Latino Adolescents and Young Adults

Assessing digital advertising exposure using a virtual experimental protocol

Cigar Use Progression Among New Cigar Initiators: A Two-Part Growth Curve Analysis Among a Youth and Young Adult Cohort

The Measurement of Dose and Response for Smoking Behavior Change Interventions in the Digital Age: Systematic Review

Assessing the Health and Economic Impact of a Potential Menthol Cigarette Ban in New York City: a Modeling Study

E-cigarettes and Cessation: Asking Different Questions Requires Different Methods

Glasser, A., Giovenco, D. P., Levy, D. T., Vojjala, M., Cantrell, J., Abrams, D., & Niaura, R. (n.d.). In Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

Publication year

2021

Volume

Issue

Page(s)

878-879

10.1093/ntr/ntaa249

History and Current Trends in the Electronic Cigarette Retail Marketplace in the United States: 2010-2016

Patterns of E-cigarette use and subsequent cigarette smoking cessation over 2 Years (2013/2014-2015/2016) in the population assessment of tobacco and health study

Glasser, A. M., Vojjala, M., Cantrell, J., Levy, D. T., Giovenco, D. P., Abrams, D., & Niaura, R. (n.d.).

Publication year

2021

Journal title

Nicotine and Tobacco Research

Volume

Issue

Page(s)

669-677

10.1093/ntr/ntaa182

Abstract

Abstract

Introduction: Understanding the population impact of e-cigarettes requires determining their effect on cigarette smoking cessation. Methods: Using the US Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health cohort, we examined smoking cessation among adult current cigarette smokers at Wave 1 with follow-up data at Waves 2 and 3 (n = 9724). Results: By Wave 3 (2015/2016), 17.3% of smokers had quit smoking. Smokers using e-cigarettes daily or who increased to daily use over the three waves were two to four times more likely to have quit in the short term (<1 year) and long term (1+ years) compared with never e-cigarette users (p <. 001). E-cigarette use in the last quit attempt was associated with a higher likelihood of short-term (<1 year) quitting at Wave 3 (adjusted relative risk ratio: 1.33; 95% confidence interval: 1.04, 1.71) compared with smokers who did not use an e-cigarette in their last quit attempt. Noncurrent (no use in any wave) e-cigarette users and users who were unstable in use frequency were 33% and 47% less likely to quit in the short-term, respectively (p <. 001). Flavored (vs nonflavored) and using a rechargeable (vs disposable) e-cigarette device was associated with an increased likelihood of both short- and long-term quitting. Conclusion: Smoking cessation was more likely among frequent e-cigarette users, users of e-cigarettes in last quit attempt, and users of flavored and rechargeable devices. Less frequent, unstable, past, or never e-cigarette users were less likely to quit smoking. Monitoring the relationship between patterns of e-cigarette and cigarette use is complex but critical for gauging the potential of e-cigarettes as a harm reduction tool. Implications: This study suggests that consistent and frequent e-cigarette use over time is associated with cigarette smoking cessation among adults in the United States. In addition, findings suggest that flavored e-cigarette use and use of rechargeable e-cigarette devices can facilitate smoking cessation. These results underscore the importance of carefully defining and characterizing e-cigarette exposure patterns, potential confounders, and use of e-cigarettes to quit smoking, as well as variations in length of the smoking cessation.

Impact of e-cigarette and cigarette prices on youth and young adult e-cigarette and cigarette behaviour: Evidence from a national longitudinal cohort

Sociodemographic disparities in the tobacco retail environment in Washington, DC: A spatial perspective

The Effectiveness of Online Messages for Promoting Smoking Cessation Resources: Predicting Nationwide Campaign Effects From Neural Responses in the EX Campaign

Jennifer Cantrell