College Student Smokers: Former Versus Current and Nonsmokers

BackgroundLittle is known about how former smokers are different from nonsmokers and current smokers in the young adult population.PurposeIntra- and inter-personal factors associated with former smoking status were examined among a college student sample.MethodsUndergraduate students (N=8834) were contacted at a 2-year college and a 4-year university in 2008; 2700 completed the online survey (30.6% response rate). Current analyses, conducted in 2011, focused on 2589 students aged 18–30 years. Current (past 30-day) smoking prevalence was 35.3% (n=918); 9.2% (n=244) were former smokers.ResultsMultinomial logistic regression found that compared to former smokers, nonsmokers were younger (OR=0.91, CI=0.89, 0.92); less frequently used other tobacco products (OR=0.97, CI=0.94, 0.99); less frequently limited their dietary fat intake (OR=0.98, CI=0.97, 0.99); had more negative attitudes regarding smoking (OR=1.03, CI=1.02, 1.04); had lower levels of hope (OR=0.97, CI=0.94, 0.99); and had fewer friends who smoked (OR=0.74, CI=0.67, 0.83). Compared to former smokers, current smokers were younger (OR=0.94, CI=0.92, 0.96); more frequently binge drank (OR=1.11, CI=1.05, 1.18); less frequently limited their dietary fat intake (OR=0.98, CI=0.96, 0.99); had less negative attitudes toward smoking (OR=0.97, CI=0.96, 0.98); had lower levels of hope (OR=0.96, CI=0.94, 0.99); were more likely to live with other smokers (OR=2.09, CI=1.45, 3.00); and had more friends who smoked (OR=1.20, CI=1.07, 1.34).ConclusionsIntrapersonal factors (hope, attitudes toward smoking); interpersonal factors (living with smokers, friends' smoking); and use of other substances (alcohol, alternative tobacco products) are associated with differing smoking behaviors.