A new study published in Addictive Behaviors examined associations between e-cigarette use, dual use of e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes, and frequency of cannabis use among high school adolescents.
The likelihood of using cannabis was significantly higher for e-cigarette only and cigarette-only users.
Users of both products had increased odds for a higher frequency of cannabis use.
The authors concluded youth who reported use of e-cigarettes, tobacco cigarettes, and both products showed a heightened risk of using cannabis more frequently.
The interconnections between tobacco and marijuana use among adolescents suggest that linking these substances in prevention messages might produce greater effect sizes for both.
It is also possible that effective prevention programs and campaigns that target either substance might also have positive outcomes on the other non-targeted substance.
This may be why our research found positive effects on cigarette and marijuana use, as well as alcohol consumption, resulting from the SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness screening and brief intervention which largely targeted alcohol use effects on healthy lifestyles and self-images.
Future prevention efforts should assess the effects of prevention programs and media campaigns targeting cigarettes, e-cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana alone and in various combinations with content promoting healthy lifestyle development for their effectiveness in influencing multiple, interconnected substance use and health habits among youth.
Read the new research study abstract: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306460317304847
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