The Relationship of Smoking Status to Alcohol Use, Problems, and Health Behaviors in College Freshmen

Abstract

Differences in drinking, consequences, and perceptions were examined between alcohol‐using college students by smoking status (current, past, and lifetime nonsmoker). Entering freshmen (N = 558: 45% male, 72% Caucasian, age M = 18) completed a questionnaire assessing smoking, drinking and current health perceptions. Results indicated current smokers drank more frequently, were more likely to drink to intoxication, and had more physiological consequences (e.g., blackouts, coordination problems) than past or lifetime nonsmokers, but past smokers also reported riskier drinking than lifetime nonsmokers. Despite a higher prevalence of alcohol‐related health problems in both current and past smokers, no current health differences were found. Results replicate findings that current smokers are at increased risk for problematic drinking and identify past smokers as another risk group.

Event‐Level Correlates of Drinking Events Characterized by Alcohol‐Induced Blackouts

“…Being a user of both alcohol and other drugs also is associated with more consequences, including blackouts (Haas and Smith, ; Schuckit et al., ). College students with repeated blackouts over 2 years are more likely than those with fewer blackouts over time to report baseline use of cigarettes, marijuana, and other illicit drug use (Merrill et al., ).…”

When alcohol is only part of the problem: An event-level analysis of negative consequences related to alcohol and other substance use.

“…Studies have examined increased risk and prevalence of negative consequences for students who report using alcohol and other substances. Findings indicate students who report both alcohol and other substance use experience more consequences (e.g., blackouts) compared with alcohol-only users (Haas & Smith, 2012). For example, those reporting both alcohol and marijuana use experienced a variety of physical consequences (e.g., hangovers, vomiting), legal consequences (e.g., driving intoxicated), and poor academic performance compared with alcohol-only users even after controlling for heavy drinking episodes (Shillington & Clapp, 2001, 2006).…”

Characteristics of prospectively identified negative alcohol-related events among college students

“…Studies that utilize global retrospective methods consistently find that individuals who drink heavily also tend to use other substances and that using multiple substance use is associated with more alcohol-related consequences (Haas & Smith, 2012; Reed, Wang, Shillington, Clapp, & Lange, 2007; Shillington & Clapp, 2006). For example, individuals who use both alcohol and marijuana are more likely to experience alcohol-related and non-alcohol-related problems than those who only drink (Hammer & Pape, 1997; Shillington & Clapp, 2001; Simons & Carey, 2006).…”