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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Adam Cole
PhD

Assistant Professor

Faculty of Health Sciences

Contact information

Shawenjigewining Hall - Room SHA 436
North Oshawa
2000 Simcoe Street North
Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5

905.721.8668 ext. 3544

Adam.Cole@ontariotechu.ca

Research topics

  • public health
  • substance use
  • child and adolescent health
  • school/campus health promotion
  • chronic disease prevention
  • program and policy evaluation

Research and Expertise

  • Background and Interests

    Dr. Adam Cole has expertise in youth substance use, including the use of cigarettes, vapes, and cannabis. His current research program:

    • Identifies individual-level predictors of youth substance use.
    • Identifies school- and community-level predictors of youth substance use.
    • Evaluates school- and provincial-level programs and policies targeting youth substance use.

    He is currently the Tobacco Research Lead for the COMPASS study, the only study of its kind that provides longitudinal data for multiple health behaviours and evaluates changes to school programs, policies, and the built environment in five Canadian provinces.

  • Education
    • Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of California San Diego, 2019
    • PhD, Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, 2018
    • MSc, Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo, 2013
    • BSc, Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo, 2009
  • Courses Taught

    Prior Teaching Experience:
    School/Campus Health Promotion

    Current Courses:
    HLSC 1810U Health Promotion and Healthy Active Living
    HLSC 1811U Social Determinants of Health

  • Publications

    For a comprehensive list of publications, please visit PubMed and/or Google Scholar.

    • Mott H, Leatherdale ST, Cole AG. (2024). Exploring the association between the proximity and density of retailers selling IQOS products to schools and youth heated tobacco product use: evidence from the 2020–21 COMPASS study. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada, 44(1). https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.44.1.01
    • Cole AG, Gohari MR, Leatherdale ST. (2023). Evaluating the One-Year Impact of School e-Cigarette Use Interventions among Current Youth e-Cigarette Users in the COMPASS Study, 2017/18–2018/19. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(14):6353. doi:10.3390/ijerph20146353
    • Cole AG, Short M, Aalaei N, Gohari M, Leatherdale ST. (2022). Identifying changes in e-cigarette use among a longitudinal sample of Canadian youth e-cigarette users in the COMPASS cohort study, 2017/18-2018/19. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 16, 100458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2022.100458
    • Cole AG, Lienemann BA, Sun J, Chang J, Zhu S-H. (2022). California school staff reports of seeing students vaping at school and disciplinary actions. The Journal of School Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1177/10598405221127694
    • Williams GC, Cole AG, de Groh M, Jiang Y, Leatherdale ST. (2022). More support needed: Evaluating the impact of school e-cigarette prevention and cessation programs on e-cigarette initiation among a sample of Canadian secondary school students. Preventive Medicine. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106924
    • Short M, Cole AG. (2021). Factors Associated with E-Cigarette Escalation among High School Students: A Review of the Literature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(19), 10067. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910067
    • Williams GC, Cole AG, de Groh M, Jiang Y, Leatherdale ST. (2021). Investigating individual-level correlates of e-cigarette initiation among a large sample of Canadian high school students. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada. doi: https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.41.10.04
    • Cole AG, Aleyan S, Leatherdale ST. (2019). Exploring the association between e-cigarette retailer proximity and density to schools and youth e-cigarette use. Preventive Medicine Reports. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.100912
    • Doggett A, Qian W, Cole AG, Leatherdale ST. (2019). Youth consumption of alcohol mixed with energy drinks in Canada: Assessing the role of energy drinks. Preventive Medicine Reports. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.100865
    • Cole AG, Cummins SE, Zhu S-H. (2019). Offers of cigarettes and e-cigarettes among high school students: A population study from California. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(7):1143. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16071143.
    • Cole AG, Aleyan S, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. (2019). Assessing the strength of secondary school tobacco policies of schools in the COMPASS study and the association to student smoking behaviours. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 110(2):236-243. doi: 10.17269/s41997-019-00178-4.
    • Cole AG, Chaurasia A, Kennedy RD, Leatherdale ST. (2019). Identifying behavioural characteristics of tobacco product and e-cigarette use clusters: A repeat cross-sectional analysis. Addictive Behaviors, 90:77-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.10.026.
    • Cole AG, Kennedy RD, Chaurasia A, Leatherdale ST. (2019). Exploring the predictive validity of the susceptibility to smoking construct for tobacco cigarettes, alternative tobacco products, and e-cigarettes. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 21(3): 323-330. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntx265.
    • Patte KA, Qian W, Cole AG, Faulkner G, Chaput J-P, Carson V, Leatherdale ST. (2018). School start times changes in the COMPASS study: associations with youth sleep duration, physical activity, and screen time. Sleep Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2018.09.020.
    • Papadakis S, Cole AG, Reid RD, Assi R, Gharib M, Tulloch HE, Mullen K-A, Wells G, Pipe AL. (2018). From good to great: The role of ‘performance coaching’ in enhancing tobacco treatment rates. Annals of Family Medicine, 16(6):498-506. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2312.
    • Papadakis S, Girvalaki C, Vardavas C, Pipe, Cole A, Tsiligianni I, Petridou E, C Lionis. (2018). Factors associated with rates of tobacco treatment delivery by General Practitioners in Greece: Missed opportunities for prevention? Tobacco Induced Diseases, 16:21. doi: https://doi.org/10.18332/tid/90822.
    • Aleyan S, Cole AG, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. (2018). Risky business: A longitudinal study examining cigarette smoking initiation among susceptible and non-susceptible e-cigarette users. BMJ Open, 8(5): e021080. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-021080.
    • Cole AG, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. (2017). Changing the smoking trajectory: Evaluating the impact of school-based tobacco interventions on changes to susceptibility to future smoking. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(10): 1182. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14101182.