Associations between Appalachian youth tobacco consumption and communication channel use

INTRODUCTION: Youth tobacco use rates in Appalachia exceed the US national average, and e-cigarette use has increased. Thus, further research is needed to understand how these youth receive and share product information. METHODS: Middle and high school students in rural Appalachia were surveyed (N=1103). The primary outcome, tobacco use, was categorized as: never users, cigarette-only users, smokeless-only users, e-cigarette-only users, and polytobacco users. Associations between receiving or sharing conventional tobacco-related or e-cigarette-related information via specific communication channels and tobacco use were assessed. RESULTS: Participants who received tobacco information from friends and family (FF) (OR=1.87; 95% CI: 1.35–2.57), public displays (PUB) (OR=1.49; 95% CI: 1.09–2.05), and digital media (DIG) (OR=1.95; 95% CI: 1.41–2.70) and e-cigarette information via the same communication channels, FF (OR=2.65; 95% CI: 1.93–3.65), PUB (OR=1.62; 95% CI: 1.17–2.26), and DIG (OR=2.24; 95% CI: 1.61–3.12), had greater odds of being polytobacco users, compared to never users. Participants who received e-cigarette-related information from FF (OR=2.42; 95% CI: 1.42–4.13) and PUB (OR=2.13; 95% CI: 1.25–3.65) had greater odds of being e-cigarette-only users compared to never users. Participants who shared e-cigarette-related information with FF had greater odds of being e-cigarette-only users (OR=3.16; 95% CI: 1.80–5.58) and polytobacco users (OR=4.48; 95% CI: 3.16–6.35) compared to never users. CONCLUSIONS: Receiving and sharing tobacco-related and e-cigarette-related information via multiple communication channels is associated with e-cigarette and polytobacco use among Appalachian youth. Several channels may need to be utilized in health campaigns to influence youth.