Co-use of tobacco and marijuana among young adults is a large public health concern, so a recent study examined the characteristics that are connected to marijuana and tobacco co-use.
In this study, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005-2016 was used to look at the trends and patterns in co-use among 20-30 year old adults. This data was used to develop a. interview-based survey to collect information on tobacco and marijuana use among college students.
This survey showed that tobacco and marijuana co-users have different characteristics compared to those who exclusively use tobacco or marijuana. College students were more likely to be co-users compared to young adults not in college, possibly due to accessibility. Also, co-users reported smoking marijuana more times in the past month compared to marijuana-only users, and they are also more likely to use multiple different tobacco products in one month where this is not as common for tobacco only users. These findings suggest that co-users are at a higher risk for more frequent tobacco product use and may be at higher risk for health effects.
Take Away: Young adults who co-use marijuana and tobacco are more likely to use marijuana more frequently than those who only use marijuana, and are likely to use multiple tobacco products. College students are more likely to be co-users than young adults not enrolled in college.
Seaman,E.L., Howard, D.E., Howard, K.M., Green, M.Q., Fryer, C. (2019). A Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods Study of Young Adult Tobacco and Marijuana Co-Use. Substance Use & Misuse. doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2019.1638409