Online Program

324661
Polytobacco use of cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, and snuff among adults in the United States


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Hai-Yen Sung, PhD, Institute for Health & Aging, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Yingning Wang, PhD, Institute for Health & Aging, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Tingting Yao, PhD, Institute for Health & Aging, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
James Lightwood, PhD, MA, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Wendy Max, PhD, Institute for Health & Aging, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Background: The prevalence of current tobacco use has been commonly estimated on a product by product basis, but the extent of polytobacco use (consuming two or more tobacco products) among current users of each tobacco product is not well understood.

Objectives: To examine the prevalence, trends, and correlates of polytobacco use among current users of cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, and snuff in US adults aged 18 or older.

Methods: We used pooled data from the 1998, 2000, 2005 and 2010 Cancer Control Supplements of the National Health Interview Survey (N=123,399 adults). Multivariate logistic models were estimated to determine significant factors associated with polytobacco use.

Results: In 2010, the prevalence of polytobacco use was 8.6% among current cigarette smokers, 50.3% among current cigar users, 55.3% among current chewing tobacco users, and 42.3% among current snuff users. After controlling for confounders, polytobaco use increased significantly between 2000 and 2010 among smokers and declined significantly in 2000 and 2005 compared to 1998 among chewing tobacco users. Across different tobacco users, gender and race/ethnicity did not play a consistent role in predicting polytobacco use; however, young adulthood, less than high school education, living below the poverty level (except chewing tobacco users), binge drinking, and living in the South (only among smokers and cigar users) were positively associated with polytobacco use.

Conclusions: Polytobacco use was extremely popular among current users of non-cigarette tobacco products. Future research is needed to understand the reasons for and the health consequence of polytobacco use among current tobacco users.  

Learning Areas:

Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Compare the extent of polytobacco use among current cigarette smokers, current cigar users, current chewing tobacco users, and current snuff users. Explain that not only the prevalence of polytobacco use varied across different tobacco users, but the demographic profile of polytobacco users also varied across these current users.

Keyword(s): Tobacco Use, Tobacco Control

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the PI or co-investigator of multiple grants on evaluating the impact of tobacco control policies and the economic costs of illness, smoking, and secondhand smoke exposure.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.