Abstract A021: Tobacco and e-cigarette use in a sample of young men 18-24 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico: The Youth Prevention Program

Abstract

Abstract Background: Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in the world. In Puerto Rico, 11.3% of the general population reported being current smokers. The majority are men who started smoking at a young age. In addition to cigarette smoking, it is important to monitor the new and potentially dangerous trend of e-cigarette use, which has doubled ever since 2014. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and patterns of current cigarette and lifetime e-cigarette use in a sample of young men 18-24 years old from the Youth Prevention Program (YPREV). Methods: A cross-sectional study among 318 young men was implemented in 2017. Bivariate analysis comparing cigarette and e-cigarette use by selected characteristics were conducted. Results: More than half of the participants reported having smoked cigarettes during the last 30 days. Approximately 39.3% of the participants reported the use of e-cigarette in their lifetime, with 76.9% of the participants indicating trying e-cigarettes for the first time after starting college. When exploring the association between selected characteristics and current cigarette smoking, participants who reported low perceived risk of HIV infection are more likely to smoke cigarettes (p-value >0.01). In relation to e-cigarette, participants who reported being employed were more likely to use e-cigarettes (p-value=0.012). Moreover, participants who belong to the minority serving institution, reported less use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes ever than those part of the community. Conclusions: As YPREV aimed to expand their prevention services to young men in the Western region of Puerto Rico, strategic alliances for the development of multidisciplinary interventions for cigarette and e-cigarette use will be necessary, which will help develop targeted prevention strategies, primarily among freshmen college students in the Western region of Puerto Rico. Citation Format: Nashaly M Saldaña-Santiago, Jorge Rodríguez-Lebrón, Yara Sánchez-Cabrera, Edna Acosta-Pérez, Vivian Colón-López. Tobacco and e-cigarette use in a sample of young men 18-24 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico: The Youth Prevention Program [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr A021.