Vicarious Exposure to Police Discrimination and Brutality, Concern, and Changes in Cigarette Smoking

Police discrimination and brutality (PDB) disproportionately impacts racial and/or ethnic minority groups. However, it remains unclear how vicarious exposure to PDB varies in the USA and how it relates to concern and cigarette smoking across racial and/or ethnic groups.

Data were from a survey conducted in January-February 2021 with a US nationally representative sample of adults (≥ 21 years) who reported current and recent former (within the past 12 months) commercial tobacco use (n = 1700). Associations among self-reported vicarious exposure to PDB, concerns about PDB, and changes in cigarette smoking behaviors were examined.

Black/African American individuals were more likely than White individuals to report frequent vicarious exposure to PDB (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.58), 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) = 1.01, 2.46). Average concern about PDB depended both on race and/or ethnicity and frequency of vicarious exposure to PDB. Participants reporting frequent vicarious exposure to PDB had higher concern compared to participants reporting nonfrequent vicarious exposure, with the largest differences observed in Black/African American and Asian participants (interaction p-value < 0.05). Overall, concern associated with changes in cigarette smoking: each increment of concern associated with greater odds of progressing to past-30-day smoking (aOR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.15-2.10) and increased monthly cigarette consumption (adjusted regression coefficient (aRC) = 13.58 cigarettes/month, 95% CI = 1.02-26.14). These associations varied somewhat by race and/or ethnicity.

Vicarious exposure to PDB was prevalent, especially among Black/African American individuals. These exposures may have heightened concerns about PDB in the entire population and may in turn have worsened cigarette-smoking behaviors, with some variation by race and/or ethnicity.