A gendered typology of tobacco use among college students

Abstract

Abstract Background Smoking habits initiated during the adolescent period often persist into adulthood leading to tobacco and nicotine dependence with associated morbidity and premature mortality. Parental smoking has been associated with early tobacco dependence on their children. An understanding of students' smoking patterns in relationship to parents' smoking habits is crucial to informing the establishing of a smoking reduction intervention in students. Methods Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to characterize the different patterns of smoking among 361 Irish university students. The participants were enrolled in this cross-sectional study by inviting them to complete an online survey. Results Three groups were identified: (1) Chain smokers (n = 92, 25.52%). (2) Moderate tobacco users (n = 124, 34.60%). (3) Experimenters (n = 145, 40.16%). The predominantly male 'chain-smokers' groups (class 1) has a higher probability of using tobacco several times a day, have both parents as tobacco users and both parents smoking in the home compared to the 'moderate tobacco users' group (class 2) and 'experimenters' groups (class 3) which are both predominantly females. The majority (70.40%) of the chain smokers source their tobacco from family members (either parents or an older sibling); moderate tobacco users (84.74%), from friends and experimenters (100%) buy themselves. Conclusions This study reveals the predictors of tobacco use patterns among students and can inform smoking reduction intervention and strategies among students. Key messages Regulating tobacco access will checkmate use among teens/young adults. Understanding how parenteral smoking habits and tobacco access influences use and abuse among students is crucial to instituting intervention strategies.