If you are a parent who thinks your child might be interested in participating, please complete the Parent Consent Form. Once you complete this form, UCSF researchers will contact your child to see if they are interested in participating in the study. *We must receive both the Parent Consent Form and Participant Assent Form prior to enrolling individuals in the study*

If you are a young adult (18 years or older), please click here to see if you are eligible and sign up to participate!

The purpose of this study is to assess adolescents' and young adults' knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors related to tobacco (i.e. electronic cigarettes, cigarettes, etc.) and cannabis products and discover trends and evolving terminology used by young people to describe such products.

This study is funded by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

About 864 people will be in this study.

To be eligible to participate in this study, one must be between the ages of 12-20 years, have parent/guardian consent to participate in the study (if under 18 years), and must also assent to participate prior to the start of the study.

Participation in this study is completely voluntary and requires consent from both the parent/guardian and the participant (if under 18 years). If a parent gives permission for their child to participate, but the child does not want to participate, then he/she/they does not participate. Also, if the child wants to participate, but their parents say no, then they cannot participate. Young adults can consent to participate on their own. 

Participants will be asked to complete a group discussion with 4-12 youth participants and one or two UCSF researchers. A few observers from the CDPH may also be present. Focus groups will take place via video conference (Zoom). Participants will be asked to turn their camera ON prior to the Zoom interview.

Participation in this interview study will take a total of about 60-90 minutes over the course of 1 day.

It may be inconvenient to participate in this study due to the time it requires to complete the interview. Some of the questions may make you or your child feel uncomfortable. If a participant does not want to answer a question, for any reason, they don’t have to answer it. They can also withdrawal from the study at any time.

Yes. An audio recording (not video) will be made of the discussion. After the focus group, someone will type into a computer a transcript of what’s on the recording and will remove any mention of names or contact information. 

There will be no direct benefits from participating in this study. However, the information that a participant provides will help us better understand beliefs related to tobacco products among teens and young adults.

Yes. All personal information will be kept secure and confidential. Personal information including names and contact information will not be directly linked to the focus group transcript. What participants say in the focus group will NOT be shared with anyone outside our research team, including parents/guardians, family, school administrators, or law enforcement. If this study is published or presented in a scientific meeting, none of the participants will be identified nor will any individual results be shared.

In return for their time, effort and inconvenience, participants will receive a $100 gift code to their choice of a major online retailor(s) following their focus group. 

If you have any questions about the study, please email [email protected] or call/text 415-209-5248.