Waterpipe (WP) smoking patterns in the US

Authors

• AN Sanchez
• H Goss-Holmes
• S Volz
• C Reyes-Guzman

Abstract

Background: Waterpipe (WP) smoking, also known as hookah, is considered to be the second global tobacco epidemic due to its harmful and addictive nature due to nicotine and combustible carcinogenic compounds [1, 2]. Emerging research indicates higher prevalence of use among young people, males, and being high socioeconomic status [3]. With rising global trends in use, this project aimed to further examine patterns of WP smoking in the US.
Methods: We analyzed May 2019 (n=43,665) and September 2022 (n=39,558) datasets of the Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS), to examine differences in sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, family income, urbanicity, US region) by WP use behaviors (i.e., exclusive WP smoking, dual WP-smoking) among US adults.
Results: WP use for May 2019 and September 2022 was most common among adults ages 25-24 (48.30%, 48.08%), men (62.59%, 55.13%), Non-Hispanic White adults (59.86%, 60.90%), individuals with highest incomes (49.66%, 44.23%) and education levels (48.98%, 45.51%), those living in the South (43.54%, 48.72%), and former smokers (53.74%, 53.21%), respectively.
Conclusions: Unique patterns in WP use among US adults can be used to inform future surveillance and tobacco cessation intervention efforts for addressing health disparities in disproportionally impacted communities.
References:
1. Maziak W. (2011). The global epidemic of waterpipe smoking. Addictive behaviors, 36(1-2), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.08.030
2. Maziak, W., Taleb, Z. B., Bahelah, R., Islam, F., Jaber, R., Auf, R., & Salloum, R. G. (2015). The global epidemiology of waterpipe smoking. Tobacco control, 24 Suppl 1(Suppl 1), i3–i12.
3. Ibid.

Scientific Focus Area: Social and Behavioral Sciences

This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 6, 2024