Dataset Information

Determinants of Light and Intermittent Smoking in the United States: Results from Three Pooled National Health Surveys.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Light and/or intermittent smokers have been the fastest growing segment of cigarette smokers in the United States over the past two decades. Defining their behavioral characteristics is a critical public health priority.

Methods

Our sample included 78,229 U.S. adults from three pooled contemporary population-based surveys: the 2012 NHIS, 2012 NSDUH, and 2011-2012 NHANES. We classified current smokers into four categories (light and intermittent [LITS], light-daily, heavier-intermittent, and heavier-daily) and assessed smoking behaviors, illicit drug use, and mental health indicators using weighted analyses.

Results

Analyses associated smoking categories with nicotine dependence, age of smoking initiation, race/ethnicity, and other demographic and behavioral factors. Compared with heavier-daily smokers, smokers who were LITS were most likely to have mild or no nicotine dependence (weighted odds ratio [OR], 16.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 13.10-21.85), to start smoking cigarettes regularly after age 21 (OR, 3.42; 95% CI, 2.84-4.12), and to be Hispanic (OR, 5.38; 95% CI, 4.38-6.61). Additional significant results were found for other categories of smokers.

Conclusions

Based on pooled data from three large national surveys, light and/or intermittent smokers differed in smoking, drug use, and mental health behaviors from heavier-daily, former, and never smokers. Notable differences by level of smoking frequency and intensity were observed for nicotine dependence, age of smoking initiation, and race/ethnicity.

Impact

Our results may help focus preventive measures and policies for the growing number of light and/or intermittent smokers in the United States because smoking patterns vary by behavioral and socioeconomic factors. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(2); 228-39. ©2016 AACR.

SUBMITTER: Reyes-Guzman CM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5296280 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Determinants of Light and Intermittent Smoking in the United States: Results from Three Pooled National Health Surveys.

Reyes-Guzman Carolyn M CM Pfeiffer Ruth M RM Lubin Jay J Freedman Neal D ND Cleary Sean D SD Levine Paul H PH Caporaso Neil E NE

Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology 20161019 2

<h4>Background</h4>Light and/or intermittent smokers have been the fastest growing segment of cigarette smokers in the United States over the past two decades. Defining their behavioral characteristics is a critical public health priority.<h4>Methods</h4>Our sample included 78,229 U.S. adults from three pooled contemporary population-based surveys: the 2012 NHIS, 2012 NSDUH, and 2011-2012 NHANES. We classified current smokers into four categories (light and intermittent [LITS], light-daily, heav ...[more]

PMID: 27760782

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Project description:Background:Educational attainment and income are two socioeconomic status indicators with strong protective effects against cigarette smoking. Marginalization-related Diminished Returns, however, refer to less than expected protective effects of socioeconomic status indicators for the members of the racial and ethnic minority groups, particularly Blacks and Hispanics, compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Aim:Borrowing data from a nationally representative study in the US, this study tested whether racial and ethnic differences exist in the effects of educational attainment and poverty status on cigarette smoking of American adults. Methods:This cross-sectional study entered 28,329 adult participants of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH; 2013). Both educational attainment and poverty status were the independent variables. The dependent variable was current hookah smoking. Age, gender, and region were the covariates. Race and ethnicity were the effect modifiers (moderators). Results:Overall, individuals with higher educational attainment were more likely to smoke a hookah. Individuals who lived out of poverty, however, had lower odds of current hookah smoking. Race and ethnicity both showed statistical interactions with both socioeconomic indicators suggesting that Blacks and Hispanics with high educational attainment and those who live out of poverty have disproportionately high odds of hookah smoking, compared to non-Hispanic Whites with high socioeconomic status. Conclusions:In the United States, middle-class racial and ethnic minority people remain at higher risk of smoking hookah. As a result, we should expect a high tobacco burden in middle-class Black and Hispanic adults. We suggest that policymakers should not take an over-simplistic way and reduce the problem of race/ethnic inequalities in tobacco use to gaps in socioeconomic status between groups. Marginalization-related diminished returns generate tobacco disparities in higher socioeconomic status levels. Middle-class racial and ethnic minority people need extra support to stay healthy.

Dataset Information

Determinants of Light and Intermittent Smoking in the United States: Results from Three Pooled National Health Surveys.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Impact

Publications

Determinants of Light and Intermittent Smoking in the United States: Results from Three Pooled National Health Surveys.

Similar Datasets

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