Tobacco use among foster youth: Evidence of health disparities

• Foster youth use tobacco at significantly higher rates than the general population.
• Lifetime, recent, and daily use are all higher among youth exiting foster care.
• Marijuana use is nearly ubiquitous among tobacco using youth exiting foster care.
• Tobacco users are significantly more likely to also use alcohol or marijuana compared to non-tobacco users.
• Findings are limited by an omnibus measure of tobacco use.

Youth aging out of foster care face a challenging road to independence. Following exposure to myriad risk factors such as abuse, neglect, parental substance use, and severe housing mobility, supportive services decrease upon exit from care, often increasing risk for substance use, homelessness, and unemployment. Although tobacco use is also highly prevalent, little attention has been paid to screening, assessment, and treatment of tobacco use in this vulnerable group. The current study (N = 116) reports on tobacco use prevalence, consequences, and co-occurrence with other substances in a sample of youth (ages 18 to 19) exiting the foster care system. In the face of an overall decrease in tobacco use among general population adolescents and young adults, results suggest disproportionate levels of lifetime, recent, and daily use among foster youth. Prevalence of recent tobacco use (46%) is nearly triple national rates, while daily smoking (32%) is almost four times that of general population young adults. Tobacco users were more likely than non-users to drink (70% vs. 40%) and to smoke marijuana (72% vs. 25%). We strongly encourage researchers and practitioners to increase attention to this tobacco-related health disparity.