Communicating short-term health consequences of cigarette use associated
Communicating short-term health consequences of cigarette use associated with youth beliefs and intentions not to use combustible and e-cigarettes, Jesch E, Kirkut AI, Hornik R. Comparing belief in short-term versus long-term consequences of smoking and vaping as predictors of non-use in a 3-year nationally representative survey study of US youth. Tobacco Control. Online First. 31 October 2021.
https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2021/10/31/tobaccocontrol-2021-056886
“A nationally representative 3-year rolling survey of adolescents and young adults (ages 13–26 years) measured belief in potential consequences of two types of tobacco products: combustible cigarettes (n=11 847) and electronic cigarettes (n=4470) as well as intentions and current use.”
“Believing in both short-term and long-term consequences was associated with outcomes, but short-term beliefs were more highly associated with anti-smoking (OR=1.40, 95% CI (1.30 to 1.51)) and anti-vaping (OR=2.10, 95% CI (1.75 to 2.52)) intentions and better predicted non-smoking behavior at follow-up, controlling for prior use (OR=1.75, 95% CI (1.33 to 2.31)).
Results support temporal discounting by adolescents and young adults and suggest health communication efforts aiming to reduce youth tobacco use should emphasize shorter-term consequences.”
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Stephen Hamann
