Hookah tobacco use and stressful life events in a sample of young non-daily cigarette smokers

Abstract

Introduction Understanding factors that influence hookah use among young adults is important given its increasing popularity and health risks. The purpose of this study was to examine whether young adult non-daily cigarette smokers use hookah for stress regulation. We hypothesized that greater perceived stress and greater stressful life events would predict probability and frequency of recent hookah use. Methods Participants (n=598, 50.7% male) were non-daily smokers aged 18-24 years (M=20.5, SD=1.8), who completed a baseline assessment online or via mobile phone as part of a longitudinal study. Participants had been non-daily smokers for at least six months but had never been daily smokers. Results Thirty-one percent of participants reported using hookah over the past 14 days. Fulltime students were more likely to have used hookah recently. More stressful life events and more frequent alcohol use predicted likelihood and frequency of hookah use (ps < .05). Perceived stress was not associated with hookah use. Conclusions Findings suggest that hookah tobacco use is related to frequency of stressful life events but not perceived stress among non-daily cigarette smokers. Tobacco prevention and intervention programs should address hookah use and should include adaptive strategies for coping with stressful events.

The relations between discrimination, stressful life events, and substance use among adults experiencing homelessness

“…Findings from a study of women experiencing homelessness indicated that those who suffered early adverse childhood experiences were more likely to meet substance use disorder (SUD) criteria in adulthood (Guillén et al., 2020). There is also a large body of evidence showing that stressful life events are associated with a higher prevalence of substance use in a variety of other populations (Allen et al., 2019, 2020; Brikmanis & Doran, 2017; Desalu et al., 2019; Parker et al., 2016).…”

Impact of Waterpipe Educational Program on University Students’ Who are Active Waterpipe Smokers

“…Moreover, most tobacco-related deaths are in the developed countries, but this trend is expected to switch by 2030 when 80% of the tobacco-related deaths will be in the developing countries [2]. A study by Brikmanis and Doranb that examine the link between stress and hookah tobacco use among young adult found that there is a positive relationship between stressful situations and increase hookah use [3]. This indicated that more stress situations increase risk of unhealthy behaviors.…”