Federal Grant Funds Study of Young Adult Attitudes Toward Flavored Tobacco

Dr. Kymberle Sterling, assistant professor in the School of Public Health at Georgia State University, has received a two-year, $275,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute to study how young adult smokers perceive the risk of smoking flavored little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs), which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate.

The health risks associated with smoking flavored LCCs are very similar to those from cigarettes. They cause nicotine dependence and cancer.

The grant will allow Sterling, with investigators at the University of Hawaii-Manoa Cancer Center and the University of Maryland College Park School of Public Health, to develop a prognostic tool that identifies LCC risk perceptions and predicts susceptibility to smoke LCCs among young adult cigarette smokers.

Use of flavored LCCs is growing at an alarming rate among young adult cigarette smokers, especially those from ethnic minority groups. Preliminary data show young adult smokers enjoy the taste and smell of LCCs, consider smoking LCCs with peers as "cool" and feel they can quit LCCs anytime. Early indicators suggest these smokers believe LCCs are less harmful than cigarettes.

"Dr. Sterling's research, which adds to a growing body of tobacco expertise at Georgia State, will help inform how we respond to one of the latest threats in the battle against tobacco," noted School of Public Health dean and lead author of the " Tobacco Atlas," Michael P. Eriksen. "It is expected to help scientists and policy makers understand the ways in which young adult cigarette smokers think about and respond to risks related to flavored LCCs."

The 2010 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act authorized the FDA to regulate the manufacture, distribution and marketing of flavored cigarettes, with the exception of menthol cigarettes, but did not grant regulatory authority over flavored little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs). LCCs are tobacco products inhaled like cigarettes and similar in size, shape, filtering and tobacco pH.

The tobacco control community knows very little about how young adult cigarette smokers form risk perceptions of LCCs. Researchers believe understanding young adult smokers' attitudes is vital to effective regulatory policy as well as prevention methods.

CONTACT:

Frances Marine, Director of Communications
Georgia State University School of Public Health
404-413-1504
francesmarine@gsu.edu

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Georgia State University Sets Records for Diversity and Size of Freshman Class

Georgia State University this fall has welcomed the largest and most diverse freshman class in its history.

At more than 3,200, the class has grown by 6 percent from last year. The class set records for the number of Hispanic, Asian American and African American students enrolled. The academic preparation of the group also improved, with the average high school grade-point average of the entering students rising to 3.4.

The overall number of freshman applications increased by 9 percent, to more than 13,000, with applications coming from around the world. Hispanic first-year enrollment grew by 22 percent, African American 4 percent and Asian American 10 percent over last year. Previous records for freshman, African American, Asian American and Hispanic enrollment were set last fall.

The university's overall enrollment also set a record this fall, surpassing last fall's record enrollment of 32,092 on Sept. 4 with 32,374 students registered for classes as of Sept. 4. Georgia State students represent 150 counties in Georgia, all 50 states and more than 150 different nations. Newly represented in the student body this year are students from Gabon, Libya, Oman, Timor and five other countries.

Georgia State continues to be recognized as one of the most diverse universities in the nation. In its 2014 "America's Best Colleges " edition, U.S. News & World Report magazine ranked Georgia State 12th among the country's most diverse institutions. The university ranked 13th last year.

Georgia State also tied for 14th place with universities such as Carnegie Mellon and Tulane among 23 top "up and coming" national universities ranked by U.S. News & World Report. The ranking is based on assessments by college leaders across the nation. The university's J. Mack Robinson College of Business moved from 56th last year to 47th in the magazine's ranking of undergraduate business programs.

"Georgia State is increasingly a destination of choice for high achieving students of all backgrounds," said Vice Provost Timothy Renick. "Despite a decrease in the number of graduating high school seniors in Georgia this past year, Georgia State saw its applications for the freshman class increase by more than a thousand."

Georgia State's strategic focus on student retention and its ground-breaking initiatives for increasing graduation rates also have been receiving national attention. Georgia State is one of only a handful of universities nationally to use predictive analytics to daily track the progress of every student.

Earlier this year, the institution was named one of six universities highlighted as models of national higher education reform by the New America Foundation. The foundation cited Georgia State as a "Next Generation University" for its rapid increases in graduation rates and its ability to hold down costs.

"Innovations such as our approach to advising have led to a 21-point increase in our graduation rates over the past decade-one of the most dramatic increases in the nation," Renick said.

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The Scholarship Resource Center

The Scholarship Resource Center was established at Georgia State University in 2011. We offer guidance and support to students seeking financial assistance by providing year-long promotion of scholarship opportunities. We are open to all Georgia State University students regardless of financial aid eligibility status.

We offer free resources to assist you with locating scholarships.

• Browse through the print listings in our scholarship library


• Conduct online scholarship searches and review our internal catalogs


• Sign up to receive email alerts of scholarships with impending deadlines


• Attend workshops on how to become more competitive


• Receive personalized writing assistance by appointment for personal essays

Our staff can assist you with any scholarship-related questions that you may have about the application process, whether you are applying for an internal or external scholarship. Our workshops are designed to provide you with assistance and guidance throughout the application process.

Visit the Scholarship Resource Center

The Scholarship Resource Center is located at 251 Sparks Hall
Hours of operation: Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:15pm
Check the Calendar for walk-in hours and workshop information

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Georgia State University News -

Job gains, strong auto sales and a rise in housing starts, offset by poor income growth, consumer caution and ongoing political uncertainty that will continue to hinder corporate investment in coming quarters is fostering "a challenging economic recovery," according to Rajeev Dhawan of the more "

The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, led by Georgia State University, has received a $3.4 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to investigate the neurobiology behind the evolution of positive emotions and prosocial behaviors, such as empathy, compassion and cooperation.

Georgia State University researchers received $71.2 million from external funding agencies in fiscal year 2013 marking the second straight year of record-breaking research funding.

"This outstanding achievement, during a time of diminishing federal research funding, is a testament to the quality and expertise of our faculty," said Georgia State President Mark Becker. "We thank all... more "

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