Roll-your-own tobacco use among Canadian youth: current prevalence and changes in youth smoking "rollies" since 2008

Roll-your-own (RYO) cigarettes, or "rollies," represent an affordable alternative to manufactured cigarettes, especially among youth with a lower disposable income. This study characterizes changes in the prevalence of RYO tobacco current use between 2008 and 2010 in Canadian youth and examines the sociodemographic characteristics associated with RYO use in 2010.

This study uses representative data collected from grade 9 to 12 students as part of the 2008/2009 and 2010/2011 cycles of the Canadian Youth Smoking Survey (YSS).

Among current smokers, 30.5% currently use RYO cigarettes. Youth with a disposable income of more than $100 each week were less likely to be current RYO users (OR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.34-0.71). Current RYO tobacco users were more likely to be current alcohol users (OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.09-3.72) or marijuana users (OR = 2.63, 95% CI: 1.73-4.01).

RYO cigarettes continue to provide an affordable alternative to youth smokers. Targeted school-based prevention programs that address the use of RYO cigarettes may offer additional reductions to the use of RYO cigarettes.