Patterns of blunt and cigar use in the United States, 2015-2019

Background: The use of cigars for blunts (i.e., cannabis rolled in cigar paper) is well-documented; proportions of cigar and blunt use and associated characteristics are less studied.

Methods: Pooled data from the 2015-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) were analyzed in 2023. Respondents aged 12+ who reported past 30-day cigar use were categorized into three mutually exclusive use categories: (1) exclusively cigars, (2) exclusively blunts, and (3) both cigars and blunts. We examined associations between cigar-blunt use category and sociodemographic characteristics.

Results: Among people 12 and older who reported past 30-day cigar use, 48.6% (95% CI=47.6-49.6) reported exclusive cigar use; 44.3% (95% CI=43.3-45.3) reported exclusive blunt use; and 7.2% (95% CI=6.8-7.6) reported cigars and blunts. The prevalence differed by age, with exclusively blunts most prevalent among youth (72.5% [95% CI=70.7-74.3]) and young adults (62.4% [95% CI=61.4-63.5]), and exclusively cigars most prevalent among adults 26+ (61.2% [95% CI=59.8-62.5]). Exclusive blunt users smoked more days in the past month (17.5; 95% CI=16.8-18.2), compared to 13.8 days (95% CI=13.2-14.4) for cigar and blunt users, and 7.7 days (95% CI=7.5-8.0) for exclusive cigar users. There were significant differences in characteristics, with exclusive blunt use more prevalent among female (41.6%; 95% CI=40.3-42.9) and Hispanic (18.2%; 95% CI=17.3-19.2) participants.

Conclusions: Exclusive blunt use was the most prevalent pattern of past-30-day cigar use among youth and young adults. Those who use cigars as blunts smoke more cigars per month, suggesting this may be an important group for additional education and policy efforts.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - year:2024

Enthalten in:

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences - (2024) vom: 27. Feb.

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Jensen, Jessica K [VerfasserIn]
Ganz, Ollie [VerfasserIn]
Tomaino, Marisa [VerfasserIn]
Glasser, Allison M [VerfasserIn]
Sterling, Kymberle [VerfasserIn]
Delnevo, Cristine D [VerfasserIn]
Manderski, Michelle T Bover [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Preprint

Anmerkungen:

Date Revised 18.03.2024

published: Electronic

Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE

doi:

10.1101/2024.02.26.24303391

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM369539559