Factors Associated With Cannabis Use Among African American Nondaily Smokers

Abstract

Objectives: Cannabis and tobacco dual use is a growing concern in the United States, especially among African Americans (AAs). Dual use increases nicotine dependence and poses negative health effects. Despite decreasing numbers of people who smoke daily, nondaily smokers (NDS) are increasing. Polytobacco use, including blunt use, is higher in AA NDS than AAs who smoke daily. This study examined factors associated with cannabis use among AA NDS. Methods: Adult AA NDS participated in a randomized controlled trial (n = 278) for smoking cessation. A subset of this sample (n = 262; mean age 48.2 years; 50% male) was analyzed to identify correlates of cannabis use. Logistic regression assessed the associations of demographic, smoking-related, and psychosocial variables with cannabis use. Results: Participants smoked cigarettes on an average of 18 days of the last 30 and used 4.5 cigarettes on smoking days. Of the participants analyzed, 38% used cannabis, including blunts (ie, cigars hollowed out filled with cannabis) at baseline. Cannabis use was associated with polytobacco product use not including blunts (odds ratio [OR] 2.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18–3.77, P = 0.012), depressive symptoms (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.05–1.42, P = 0.011), and younger age (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.94–0.99, P = 0.004). Conclusions: Rates of cannabis and tobacco dual use in our sample exceed national rates. Dual use poses harmful health effects that exceed the risk of either substance alone. Findings will inform future work in tailoring treatments to vulnerable groups of people who use both tobacco and cannabis.

Effects of Marijuana Use on Smokers Switching to E-Cigarettes in a Randomized Clinical Trial

“…Almost half of our study sample reported at least one incident of marijuana use, corresponding with rates of marijuana use among cigarette smokers ranging from 27% to 46% in previous studies. 13,15,43,44 Given that many smoking studies use CO as an endpoint for bioverifying tobacco use status, researchers will need to determine how to use this information. Many researchers opt to make marijuana and other drug use exclusion criteria.…”

“…9 Couse of combusted (ie, smoked) marijuana is frequent among cigarette smokers and shares similar health concerns from combustion such as exposure to CO, tar, and many harmful compounds also found in tobacco smoke. [10][11][12] Marijuana use among smokers ranges from 18% to 40% [13][14][15][16] varying by study, population, and survey questions used. Combustion of plant-based material exposes marijuana and tobacco users alike to CO, which impedes oxygen delivery in the body by competing with oxygen for binding to hemoglobin.…”