Age of Initiation of Dual Tobacco Use and Binge Drinking among Youth (12–17 Years Old): Findings from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study

Adriana Pérez, Arnold E. Kuk, Meagan A. Bluestein, Hui Min Shirlyn Sia and Baojiang Chen
Additional contact information
Adriana Pérez: Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Austin, TX 78701, USA
Arnold E. Kuk: Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Austin, TX 78701, USA
Meagan A. Bluestein: Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Austin, TX 78701, USA
Hui Min Shirlyn Sia: Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Austin, TX 78701, USA
Baojiang Chen: Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Austin, TX 78701, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-12

Abstract: Earlier exposure to binge drinking and tobacco use is associated with higher odds of substance use disorders. Using national youth data from the PATH study, we prospectively estimate the age of initiating past 30-day use of (1) cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and binge drinking, and (2) cigarettes, cigarillos, and binge drinking. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate differences in the age of initiation by sex, race/ethnicity, and previous use of other tobacco products. By age 21, 4.4% (95% CI: 3.7–5.2) and 2.0% (95% CI: 1.2–2.8) of youth reported initiation of past 30-day use outcomes (1) and (2), respectively. After controlling for sex and previous use of other tobacco products, statistically significant differences in the age of initiation by race/ethnicity were found for each outcome: Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black youth were less likely than non-Hispanic White youth to initiate past 30-day use of both outcomes (1) and (2) at earlier ages. Although the initiation of both outcomes remained relatively low by age 21, these incidences represent 1.56 million and 700,000 youth, respectively. This study provides the public with evidence to identify the particular ages at which education campaigns may be most effective to prevent youth from initiating these three substances. Further research is needed to estimate the age of initiation of other dual tobacco use patterns with binge drinking.

Keywords: cigarette use; e-cigarette use; cigarillo use; survival analysis; interval censoring; hazard function (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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