Comparing college smokers' and dual users' expectancies towards cigarette smoking

BackgroundAs no agreed upon definition exists for dual use (i.e., individuals who concurrently use more than one form of tobacco), this population remains largely unstudied in the substance use literature, despite increases in smokeless tobacco use among young adults. Individuals 18–25 years of age report the highest rates of smokeless tobacco use, dual use, and cigarette use. The current study compared the smoking outcome expectancies of college student dual users to those who reported only smoking cigarettes.MethodsThe Short Form of the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire was used to examine potential differences in positive or negative expectations regarding cigarette use.ResultsData from this study suggest that smokers believe that smoking will lead to greater positive consequences (“cigarettes taste good”), negative reinforcement (“cigarettes help me deal with anger”), and weight/appetite reduction (“smoking controls my appetite”) when compared to dual users. Conversely, dual users believed that smoking would lead to greater negative consequences (e.g., “smoking is taking years off of my life”).DiscussionThese results may help to explain why some smokers choose not to use smokeless tobacco products for harm reduction or smoking cessation purposes, as well as why increases are being observed in smokeless tobacco rates among young adults.