UCSF

Objective

To explore use of tobacco products in relationship to marketing exposure among persons in addiction treatment.

Method

A random sample of treatment programs was drawn from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Clinical Trials Network (CTN). Participants in each program completed surveys concerning use of tobacco products (N=1113). Exposure to tobacco marketing and counter-marketing, advertising receptivity, and perceived health risks of smoking were tested for their association with use of multiple tobacco products.

Results

Prevalence of combustible cigarette use was 77.9%. Weekly or greater use of other products was: e-cigarettes (17.7%), little filtered cigars (8.6%), smokeless tobacco (5.2%), and standard cigars (4.6%) with 24.4% using multiple tobacco products. Compared to single product users, multiple product users smoked more cigarettes per day (OR=1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05, p<0.001), were more likely to have tried to quit (OR=1.41, 95% CI 1.02-1.96, p=0.041), reported greater daily exposure to advertising for products other than combustible cigarettes (OR=1.93, CI 1.35-2.75, p<0.001), and greater daily exposure to tobacco counter-marketing (OR=1.70, 95% CI: 1.09-2.63, p=0.019).

Conclusion

Heavier smokers and those trying to quit may be more likely to use e-cigarettes, little filtered cigars, or smokeless tobacco and have greater susceptibility to their advertising. This highlights the importance of regulating advertising related to smoking cessation as their effectiveness for this purpose has not been demonstrated.