Journal article
Evidence That Smokeless Tobacco Use Is a Gateway for Smoking Initiation in Young Adult Males
Preventive medicine, Vol.32(3), pp.262-267
03/2001
DOI: 10.1006/pmed.2000.0802
PMID: 11277684
Abstract
Background. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that smokeless tobacco (SLT) serves as a gateway drug for smoking among young adult males.
Methods. A cohort (n = 7,865) of U.S. Air Force recruits who claimed to have never smoked cigarettes was followed prospectively for 1 year. The participants were male, 32.9% were ethnic minorities, and their average age was 19.84 years (SD = 2.29). Among recruits entering basic military training, 403 (5.1%) reported current SLT use and 198 (2.5%) reported a past history of SLT use.
Results. At the 1-year follow-up current SLT users were 233% more likely to have initiated smoking than nonusers (odds ratio = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.84–2.94). Similarly, recruits who reported past SLT use were 227% more likely to begin smoking than participants who had never used SLT (odds ratio = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.64–3.15). SLT use remained a potent predictor of smoking initiation in a multivariate logistic model that included demographic factors and other risk factors for initiation.
Conclusions. SLT use appears to be an important predictor of smoking initiation among young adult males. This study suggests that smoking prevention and cessation programs should also include strategies related to SLT use.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Evidence That Smokeless Tobacco Use Is a Gateway for Smoking Initiation in Young Adult Males
- Creators
- C.Keith Haddock - University of Missouri, Kansas City, Mid America Heart Institute, St. Luke's Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, 64110Mark Vander Weg - University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, 38119Margaret DeBon - University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, 38119Robert C Klesges - University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, 38119G.Wayne Talcott - Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, Bolling Air Force Base, Maryland, 20332Harry Lando - University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55454Alan Peterson - Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, 78236
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Preventive medicine, Vol.32(3), pp.262-267
- DOI
- 10.1006/pmed.2000.0802
- PMID
- 11277684
- NLM abbreviation
- Prev Med
- ISSN
- 0091-7435
- eISSN
- 1096-0260
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 03/2001
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Injury Prevention Research Center; Community and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984063113502771
Metrics
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