Abstract
PurposeLight cigarette smoking has had limited research. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between light smoking in adolescence with smoking in adulthood.MethodsNational Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health data, Waves I and IV, were analyzed. Previous month adolescent smoking of 1–5 cigarettes/day (cpd) (light smoking); 6–16 cpd (average smoking); 17 or more cpd (heavy smoking); and nonsmoking were compared with the outcome of adult smoking.ResultsAt baseline, 15.9% of adolescents were light smokers, 6.8% were average smokers, and 3.6% were heavy smokers. The smoking patterns were significantly related to adult smoking. In logistic regression analyses, adolescent light smokers had an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 2.45 (95% CI: 2.00, 3.00) of adult smoking; adolescent average or heavy smokers had AOR of 5.57 (95% CI: 4.17, 7.43) and 5.23 (95% CI: 3.29, 8.31), respectively.ConclusionIndividuals who initiate light cigarette smoking during adolescence are more likely to smoke as young adults.Practical ImplicationsWhen screening for tobacco use by adolescents, there is a need to verify that the adolescents understand that light smoking constitutes smoking. There is a need for healthcare providers to initiate interventions for adolescent light smoking.
Highlights
In 2000–2004, tobacco was related to 443,000 deaths, 5.1 million years of potential life lost, and $96 billion in healthcare expenditures in the US [1]
Adolescents with a light smoking behavioral pattern had an odds ratio (OR) of 3.03 of becoming young adults who smoked as compared with adolescents with a nonsmoking behavioral pattern
The association was attenuated in the adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with the additional factors of adolescent depression, adolescent close friends who smoked, adolescent body mass index, race/ethnicity, and sex in the logistic regression model
Summary
In 2000–2004, tobacco was related to 443,000 deaths, 5.1 million years of potential life lost, and $96 billion in healthcare expenditures in the US [1]. From 1991 to 2002, the number of people smoking 15 or more cigarettes per day (cpd) has fallen in the age groups of 18–29, 30–44, and 45–64 years [3]. Some researchers have defined light smoking as smoking 1–4 cpd, while others have defined light smoking as smoking less than a pack of cpd (1–20 cpd) [3, 4, 6]. In the Clinical Practice Guideline on Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, published by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, light smoking is defined as smoking fewer than 10 cpd [7]. The public often has an inaccurate perception that light smoking has no risk [5] and may not even consider light smoking as smoking. Towns and her colleagues provided evidence of the addictive nature of light smoking in adolescents [2]
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