Smokeless tobacco use and religiousness

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Sociology of Religion
• Addiction Research

Background:

• Smoking cessation research indicates a negative association between smoking and religiousness.
• However, the relationship between religiousness and smokeless tobacco (ST) use remains unexplored.
• Understanding this association is crucial for comprehensive tobacco prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between the frequency of religious service attendance and smokeless tobacco use among men.
• To determine if religiousness has a protective effect against smokeless tobacco initiation or continuation.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from 9,374 men aged 17 and older with complete information on religious service attendance and ST use.
• Logistic regression analysis was employed to adjust for potential confounding factors.
• Comparison of ST use prevalence between frequent (>or=24 times/year) and infrequent (<24 times/year) religious service attenders.

Main Results:

• Among men aged 17-29 years, 4.9% of frequent religious service attenders and 9.4% of infrequent attenders were current ST users (p=0.002).
• Infrequent religious service attenders were twice as likely to be ST users compared to frequent attenders (OR=2.09, 95% CI: 1.12-3.92, p=0.02) after adjusting for confounders.
• A significant negative association was observed between religiousness and ST use in younger men.

Conclusions:

• Early-life religiousness appears to have a protective effect against smokeless tobacco use in young men.
• Findings suggest that religious involvement could be a factor to consider in designing ST prevention programs.
• Further research is warranted to explore this protective association across different demographics and cultural contexts.