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Objectives To estimate the prevalence of youth who use cannabis but have never been tobacco smokers and to assess the characteristics that differentiate them from those using both substances or neither substance.
Design School survey.
Setting Postmandatory schools.
Participants A total of 5263 students (2439 females) aged 16 to 20 years divided into cannabis-only smokers (n = 455), cannabis and tobacco smokers (n = 1703), and abstainers (n = 3105).
Outcome Measures Regular tobacco and cannabis use; and personal, family, academic, and substance use characteristics.
Results Compared with those using both substances, cannabis-only youth were younger (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.82) and more likely to be male (AOR, 2.19), to play sports (AOR, 1.64), to live with both parents (AOR, 1.33), to be students (AOR, 2.56), and to have good grades (AOR, 1.57) and less likely to have been drunk (AOR, 0.55), to have started using cannabis before the age of 15 years (AOR, 0.71), to have used cannabis more than once or twice in the previous month (AOR, 0.64), and to perceive their pubertal timing as early (AOR, 0.59). Compared with abstainers, they were more likely to be male (AOR, 2.10), to have a good relationship with friends (AOR, 1.62), to be sensation seeking (AOR, 1.32), and to practice sports (AOR, 1.37) and less likely to have a good relationship with their parents (AOR, 0.59). They were more likely to attend high school (AOR, 1.43), to skip class (AOR, 2.28), and to have been drunk (AOR, 2.54) or to have used illicit drugs (AOR, 2.28).
Conclusions Cannabis-only adolescents show better functioning than those who also use tobacco. Compared with abstainers, they are more socially driven and do not seem to have psychosocial problems at a higher rate.
Cannabis is the most used illegal drug among youth.1- 2 Contrary to the United States, where cannabis use rates have been decreasing among adolescents since the late 1990s,2 in Switzerland and other European countries,3- 4 data indicate that its use has increased in the past years among young5 and older6 adolescents. Moreover, at the age of 15 years, Swiss students show the highest rates in Europe both of ever use and use in the previous 12 months.7
Cannabis use is associated with the use of other substances,8- 11 especially tobacco.12- 16 The gateway theory17 hypothesizes that the use of legal drugs (tobacco and alcohol) is the previous step to cannabis consumption. However, recent research also indicates that cannabis use may precede18- 19 or be simultaneous18 to tobacco use and that, in fact, its use may reinforce cigarette smoking14,20 or lead to nicotine addiction independently of smoking status.19- 20 Moreover, daily smoking is an important predictor of continued cannabis use.8,15 Nevertheless, to our knowledge, there are no data referring to whether youth using cannabis but not tobacco differ from those using both substances.
Our objectives were to estimate the prevalence of youth who use cannabis but have never been tobacco smokers and then to assess to what extent they differ from those using both substances and from those using neither cannabis nor tobacco in terms of personal, family, academic, and other legal/illegal substance use characteristics. We had 2 hypotheses: (1) as reported in the literature,21- 22 those using both substances would have more family and academic problems and would be heavier substance users; and (2) as described in recent studies,23- 24 abstainers (no smoking and no cannabis use) would do better than cannabis-only users in terms of their overall functioning from a personal, family, and academic point of view.
Source: JAMA Network | JAMA Pediatrics | Some Go Without a CigaretteCharacteristics of Cannabis Users Who Have Never Smoked Tobacco
Design School survey.
Setting Postmandatory schools.
Participants A total of 5263 students (2439 females) aged 16 to 20 years divided into cannabis-only smokers (n = 455), cannabis and tobacco smokers (n = 1703), and abstainers (n = 3105).
Outcome Measures Regular tobacco and cannabis use; and personal, family, academic, and substance use characteristics.
Results Compared with those using both substances, cannabis-only youth were younger (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.82) and more likely to be male (AOR, 2.19), to play sports (AOR, 1.64), to live with both parents (AOR, 1.33), to be students (AOR, 2.56), and to have good grades (AOR, 1.57) and less likely to have been drunk (AOR, 0.55), to have started using cannabis before the age of 15 years (AOR, 0.71), to have used cannabis more than once or twice in the previous month (AOR, 0.64), and to perceive their pubertal timing as early (AOR, 0.59). Compared with abstainers, they were more likely to be male (AOR, 2.10), to have a good relationship with friends (AOR, 1.62), to be sensation seeking (AOR, 1.32), and to practice sports (AOR, 1.37) and less likely to have a good relationship with their parents (AOR, 0.59). They were more likely to attend high school (AOR, 1.43), to skip class (AOR, 2.28), and to have been drunk (AOR, 2.54) or to have used illicit drugs (AOR, 2.28).
Conclusions Cannabis-only adolescents show better functioning than those who also use tobacco. Compared with abstainers, they are more socially driven and do not seem to have psychosocial problems at a higher rate.
Cannabis is the most used illegal drug among youth.1- 2 Contrary to the United States, where cannabis use rates have been decreasing among adolescents since the late 1990s,2 in Switzerland and other European countries,3- 4 data indicate that its use has increased in the past years among young5 and older6 adolescents. Moreover, at the age of 15 years, Swiss students show the highest rates in Europe both of ever use and use in the previous 12 months.7
Cannabis use is associated with the use of other substances,8- 11 especially tobacco.12- 16 The gateway theory17 hypothesizes that the use of legal drugs (tobacco and alcohol) is the previous step to cannabis consumption. However, recent research also indicates that cannabis use may precede18- 19 or be simultaneous18 to tobacco use and that, in fact, its use may reinforce cigarette smoking14,20 or lead to nicotine addiction independently of smoking status.19- 20 Moreover, daily smoking is an important predictor of continued cannabis use.8,15 Nevertheless, to our knowledge, there are no data referring to whether youth using cannabis but not tobacco differ from those using both substances.
Our objectives were to estimate the prevalence of youth who use cannabis but have never been tobacco smokers and then to assess to what extent they differ from those using both substances and from those using neither cannabis nor tobacco in terms of personal, family, academic, and other legal/illegal substance use characteristics. We had 2 hypotheses: (1) as reported in the literature,21- 22 those using both substances would have more family and academic problems and would be heavier substance users; and (2) as described in recent studies,23- 24 abstainers (no smoking and no cannabis use) would do better than cannabis-only users in terms of their overall functioning from a personal, family, and academic point of view.
Source: JAMA Network | JAMA Pediatrics | Some Go Without a CigaretteCharacteristics of Cannabis Users Who Have Never Smoked Tobacco
