Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Date of Award

5-2023

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Advisor(s)

Adriana Perez

Second Advisor

Melissa B. Harrell

Abstract

Previous studies have described the demographics, purchasing behaviors, trends in frequencies of cigar use, and quitting status among cigar poly users, however, there has not been a study that evaluates differences in demographic characteristics and quitting status for premium and non-premium U.S. adult cigar users. This study used secondary data analyses of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study public-use files dataset for adult traditional cigar users in wave 4 (2016-2018) and wave 5 (2018-2019). Traditional cigars were classified as premium or non-premium at wave 4 (2016-2018) using the brand and price per stick of cigar that was reported by adult traditional cigar users in the PATH study. The study explored differences in demographic characteristics between premium and non-premium adult cigar users to determine if there was a difference in the proportions of sex, age, race, ethnicity, education, past 30-day cigarette use, and past 30-day traditional cigar use at wave 4 (2016-2018) of the PATH study. Two weighted logistic regression models assessed the association of premium and non-premium cigar use in the past year on quitting status of traditional cigar use two years later. The first model controlled for age, sex, race, ethnicity, and highest level of education. The second model controlled for past 30-day cigarette use, and past 30-day traditional cigar use for age, sex, race, ethnicity, and highest level of education. To evaluate the association of premium and non-premium cigar use in the past year on quitting status of traditional cigar use two years later, the crude, adjusted odds ratios, and 95% confidence interval were reported. Most premium cigar users were non-Hispanic (88.22%) white (83.69%) males (89.40%) between the ages 25-35 years old (30.37%) with the highest education of bachelor’s degree or above (44.17%). The results indicated there were 32.65% adults who reported using premium cigars in 2016-2018 (Wave 4), and 67.35% reported using non-premium cigars. Of those who reported using premium cigars in 2016-2018 (Wave 4), 33.69% quit using cigars in 2018-2019 (Wave 5); of those who reported using non-premium cigars in 2016-2018 (Wave 4), 75.58% quit using cigars in 2018-2019 (Wave 5). After adjusting for covariates, premium cigar users (at Wave 4, 2016-2018) had 84% lower odds of quitting (at Wave 5, 2018-2019) in comparison to non-premium cigar users (aOR=0.16, 95% CI=0.11-0.24). Premium and non-premium cigar users need interventions that motivate them to quit. Future studies should investigate quit intentions within these user groups to assess their readiness for change.

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