Physical health among Hispanic adults: A test of nicotine use type

The Hispanic population in the United States (US) is an established tobacco and physical health disparities population. However, there has been limited study of this group in terms of type of nicotine product use and health status. The current investigation builds from limited past work to explore differences in physical health status, somatic symptom severity, and medical conditions between Hispanic adults who exclusively use combustible cigarettes or dual combustible cigarette and electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) users. Participants were 297 Hispanic individuals recruited nationally across the US who smoked combustible cigarettes daily (36.4% female, M_age = 35.9 years, SD = 8.87). Three analysis of covariance models were conducted to evaluate differences in physical health status, somatic symptom severity, and total number of medical conditions between individuals who engaged in exclusive combustible cigarette use (N = 205) and individuals who engaged in dual use (e.g., combustible and e-cigarette; N = 92). Results indicated that dual use was associated with poorer physical health status, greater levels of somatic symptoms, and a higher number of total medical conditions compared to exclusive combustible cigarette use. These findings may suggest that dual nicotine product use among the Hispanic population may reflect a health disparity population in terms of physical health and could likely benefit from specialized or more intensive care.