Abstract
Few studies address the developmental transition from youth tobacco use uptake to regular adulthood use, especially for noncigarette tobacco products. The current study uses online panel data from the Legacy Young Adult Cohort Study to describe the prevalence of cigarette, other tobacco product, and dual use in a nationally representative sample of young adults aged 18–34 (N = 4,201). Of the 23% of young adults who were current tobacco users, 30% reported dual use. Ever use, first product used, and current use were highest for cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, and hookah. Thirty-two percent of ever tobacco users reported tobacco product initiation after the age of 18 and 39% of regular users reported progressing to regular use during young adulthood. This study highlights the need for improved monitoring of polytobacco use across the life course and developing tailored efforts for young adults to prevent progression and further reduce overall population prevalence.
Highlights
In 2010, young adults aged 18–25 reported the highest prevalence of current use of a tobacco product (40.8%) compared to youth or adults [1]
This study demonstrates a 30% dual use rate among current tobacco users, supporting previous studies indicating that 24–26% of young adult smokers are polytobacco users [22, 23]
Similar levels of cigarette use were observed among cigarette-only users and dual users, indicating that dual use does not lead to harm reduction among young smokers
Summary
In 2010, young adults aged 18–25 reported the highest prevalence of current use of a tobacco product (40.8%) compared to youth (ages 12–17) or adults (ages 26 and older) [1]. Since the Master Settlement Agreement, which restricted tobacco marketing to youth [5], young adults have become an increasingly important target audience for tobacco industry attention [6]. Young adulthood marks an important developmental period for leaving home and school, increased stress and pressure, identity exploration, and the establishment of health behaviors that will persist throughout adulthood [7]. The transition from youth smoking initiation (and its primary prevention) to adult established smoker (and cessation treatment interventions) is an understudied developmental period along the trajectories and pathways of progression to regular tobacco use, nicotine dependence, and difficulty quitting [9, 10]. Understanding the role tobacco use behavior plays during this critical life stage can offer important opportunities to significantly reduce tobacco use prevalence and its preventable harms
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