Tobacco Induced Diseases (Jul 2024)

Determinants of tobacco use transitions in smoker nursing students in Catalonia: A prospective longitudinal study

  • Kenza Laroussy,
  • Esteve Fernández,
  • Yolanda Castellano,
  • Marcela Fu,
  • Antoni Baena,
  • Ariadna Feliu,
  • Armando Peruga,
  • Mercè Margalef,
  • Olena Tigova,
  • Jordi Galimany,
  • Montserrat Puig,
  • Carmen Moreno,
  • Albert Bueno,
  • Antonio López,
  • Judith Roca,
  • Judith Saura,
  • Cristina Martínez

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18332/tid/189484
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22, no. July
pp. 1 – 17

Abstract

Read online

Introduction The use of emerging tobacco and nicotine products affects tobacco use behaviors among college students. Thus, we aimed to examine transitions in tobacco use patterns and identify their predictors among smokers in a cohort of nursing students in Catalonia (Spain). Methods We conducted a prospective longitudinal study of Catalan nursing students between 2015–2016 and 2018–2019. We examined transitions in tobacco use patterns between baseline and follow-up among smokers from: 1) daily to nondaily smoking, 2) non-daily to daily smoking, 3) cigarette-only use to polytobacco use, 4) poly-tobacco use to cigarette-only use, 5) between products, 6) reducing consumption by ≥5 cigarettes per day (CPD); and 7) quitting smoking. We applied a Generalized Linear Model with a log link (Poisson regression) and robust variance to identify predictors of reducing cigarette consumption by ≥5 CPD and quitting smoking, obtaining both crude and adjusted (APR) prevalence ratios and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Among daily smokers at baseline, 12.1% transitioned to non-daily smoking at follow-up, while 36.2% of non-daily smokers shifted to daily smoking. Among cigarette-only users, 14.2% transitioned to poly-tobacco use, while 48.4% of polytobacco users switched to exclusive cigarette use. Among all smokers (daily and non-daily smokers), 60.8% reduced their cigarette consumption by ≥5 CPD and 28.3% quit smoking. Being a non-daily smoker (APR=0.33; 95% CI 0.19–0.55) and having lower nicotine dependence (APR=0.78; 95% CI 0.64–0.96) were inversely associated with reducing cigarette consumption, while being a non-daily smoker (APR=1.19; 95% CI: 1.08–1.31) was directly associated with quitting smoking. Conclusions Nursing students who smoked experienced diverse transitions in tobacco use patterns over time. Evidence-based tobacco use preventive and cessation interventions are needed to tackle tobacco use among future nurses.

Keywords