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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Erin L. Sutfin, PhD¹, Thomas McCoy, MS², Heather Champion, PhD³, Mary Claire O'Brien, MD⁴, Robert H. DuRant, PhD⁵, and Mark Wolfson, PhD¹. (1) Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, 2000 W. First Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27104, 336-713-5282, esutfin@wfubmc.edu, (2) Department of Biostatistical Science, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd., Winston-Salem, NC 27157, (3) Div of Public Health Sciences/Dept of Social Sciences & Health Policy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, 2000 W. 1st Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27104, (4) Department of Emergency Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, One Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, (5) Departments of Pediatrics and Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, 2000 W. 1st Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27104

Background: North Carolina is the leading tobacco producing state in the country. In 2003, NC ranked 49th in state excise taxes on cigarettes and spent only 14.6% of the CDC recommended minimum for tobacco prevention. NC youth and adults report consistently higher smoking rates as compared to the rest of the country. Data from a national college sample in 2003 showed that 22.5% of students reported past 30 day smoking. However, little is known about tobacco use among college students in NC.

Method: A web-based survey was administered to a stratified random sample of 3920 college students from ten universities in NC in the fall of 2003. The survey measured tobacco and alcohol use and other health risk behaviors. Variables associated with tobacco use were analyzed using clustered logistic regression, where adjusted odds ratios and 95% CI's were calculated.

Results: Twenty-eight percent of students reported past 30 day smoking. Smoking was associated with white race (AOR=1.38, 95% CI=1.02-1.88), lower GPA (1.68, 1.37-2.06), past 30 day alcohol use (2.84, 1.92-4.20), past 30 day binge drinking (2.40, 1.71-3.38), and getting drunk in a typical week (2.11, 1.60-2.79), past 30 day marijuana use (8.11, 6.79-9.69), and history of illicit drug use (4.88, 4.11-5.80).

Conclusion: Results revealed that college students in North Carolina smoke at a higher rate than the national average for college students. In addition, smoking among NC college students was related to alcohol and drug use. Results suggest that interventions among this population are warranted.

Learning Objectives: