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Harm Perceptions of Intermittent Tobacco Product Use Among U.S. Youth, 2016
Teresa W Wang1, Katrina F Trivers2, Kristy L Marynak2
1Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
Purpose:
We aimed to describe U.S. youth harm perceptions of intermittent tobacco use.
Methods:
Using data from the 2016 National Youth Tobacco Survey of U.S. students (grades 6-12; N = 20,675), we examined prevalence and correlates of all respondents' perceived harm of using four different tobacco products on "some days but not every day." Associations between current (past 30-day) use and harm perceptions were assessed using multivariable regression.
Results:
Perceiving that intermittent use causes "no" or "little" harm was 9.7% for cigarettes, 12.0% for smokeless tobacco, 18.7% for hookah, and 37.5% for e-cigarettes. Compared with those who reported "a lot" of harm, youth with lower harm perceptions were more likely to report current use.
Conclusions:
One in ten youth perceived intermittent cigarette smoking as causing "little" or "no" harm; this perception was higher among current users. Efforts to educate youth about the risks of even intermittent tobacco product use could reduce misperceptions of harm.
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