About The Lab
Directed by Dr. Ziyad Ben Taleb, the Nicotine and Tobacco Research Laboratory is located at the Maverick Activity Center within the Department of Kinesiology. This unique lab facility has been designed to serve as University of Texas at Arlington’s dedicated smoking/vaping clinical research laboratory. The primary focus of the Lab is on the investigation of emerging tobacco products (e.g. hookah and e-cigarettes) and their effect on health. The lab follows a multidisciplinary model with collaborators in the fields of kinesiology, physiology, epidemiology, health communications and health policy. The lab features two separate areas with one area allocated to smoking/vaping sessions and the other area allocated to data entry and processing. The lab is fully equipped with computers, physical screening station, blood drawing and processing areas, vital signs monitoring equipment and subjective experiences assessment tools.
Emerging Issues in Tobacco Use
Tobacco use remains as a leading cause of mortality in the United States and worldwide. The tobacco product landscape is rapidly changing, and use of new emerging tobacco products such as e-cigarettes and hookah is on the rise. This dramatic increase in the use of emerging tobacco products, especially by youth, represent significant public health concerns. For example, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have become the most popular tobacco products for youth in the United States and are hooking youth on nicotine addiction. Although e-cigarettes may have a potential role in helping adult cigarette smokers quit or move to a less harmful product, the long-term health impact of e-cigarettes and the public health effect associated with their use remain uncertain. Therefore, there is critical need for experimental research evaluating health effects associated with exposure to e-cigarettes and other emerging tobacco product such as hookah.
Join the Team
Interested students should contact Dr. Ziyad Ben Taleb (Ziyad.bentaleb@uta.edu) for more information.
