Dual and polytobacco use after a period of enforced tobacco cessation

Abstract

The current study aimed to assess single product, dual, and polytobacco use in a young adult military population and how an enforced tobacco ban during training impacts these behaviors. Participants were 810 U.S. Airmen who reported tobacco use as civilians. Participants completed baseline and one-year follow-up surveys about their tobacco use from 2016 to 2019. Each product used by a participant was assigned a score based on their frequency of use, which were summed to create a total score. Change scores were calculated by determining the difference between baseline and follow-up frequency scores. Tobacco frequency score and the categorical change (e.g., increased, decreased) were compared between groups using t-tests and Chi-squared tests, respectively, adjusting for clustering effects by squadron and base. Among single product users, 44.58% quit using tobacco products, 47.1% remained single product users, and 8.32% became dual or polytobacco users. Among dual users, 39.1% quit, 43.1% became single product users, 14.2% remained dual users, and 3.7% became polytobacco users. Among polytobacco users, 29.9% quit, 43.4% became single product users, 17.9% became dual users, and 8.8% continued poly-tobacco use. Most participants reduced the number and frequency of tobacco products used. Implementing stringent policies that further restrict tobacco use may decrease tobacco product use or frequency of use.

Keywords: Dual tobacco use; Enforced tobacco bans; Polytobacco use; Tobacco; Tobacco cessation.