Addictive behaviors
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Addictive behaviors · May 2020
Behavioral heterogeneity among cigarette and e-cigarette dual-users and associations with future tobacco use: Findings from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study.
Dual-users of cigarettes and e-cigarettes are commonly treated as a single group. Our study applied a more nuanced classification of this complex behavior to examine its associations with future tobacco use behaviors using data from Waves 1 and 3 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health. Dual-users at Wave 1 (n = 1,665) were categorized into 4 groups based on the frequency with which they used each product (i.e., some days, daily). ⋯ Adults who concurrently use cigarettes and e-cigarettes exhibit considerable heterogeneity in their use of these tobacco products. Dual-users that are higher on the socioeconomic gradient are more likely to engage in plausibly less harmful dual-use behaviors, which are more strongly associated with harm reduction and cessation behaviors. Future research should consider this variation to more accurately characterize the public health impact of dual-use.