03) and rode without seat belts more than half the time (OR = 3.36). The final set of regression analyses compare odds for dependent versus non-dependent smoking (as measured by waking up wanting to smoke), finding more than a doubling among subjects with depression (OR = 2.32), experience of physical or emotional abuse (OR = 2.09), and those who utilized mental Enzalutamide Sigma health services (OR = 2.07). Table 4. Logistic regression results of (a) smoking in past 3 months, (b) smoking daily, and (c) nicotine dependence on risk factors: lack of exercise, risky drinking, risky driving, probable depression, adverse relational experiences, and past 6-month health … Discussion The findings from this study expand our knowledge about associations between health-related risk behaviors and different levels of tobacco use, as well as emerging nicotine dependence, among college and graduate school students.

Our data show that 23% of students seeking routine care in college health centers report tobacco use in the past 3 months. The vast majority (88%) of these are light (47%) or intermittent (41%) smokers, with less than 2% smoking 20 or more cpd. However, nearly a third (30%) of all smokers, including some of the non-daily smokers, report waking up wanting to smoke, a hallmark of nicotine dependence (Rubinstein et al., 2007). In both bivariate and regression analyses, smoking at any level was associated with a constellation of risk factors, including high alcohol use, unsafe driving practices, less exercise, experience of emotional or physical abuse, depression, and utilization of emergency and mental health services.

Further increased odds of daily (vs. non-daily) smoking were found among students who reported not wearing seat belts (OR = 3.36) or exercising less than three times per week (OR = 2.03), while dependent smokers were more likely than non-dependent smokers to screen positive for depression (OR = 2.32), report emotional or physical abuse (OR = 2.09), and seek mental health counseling (OR = 2.07). What are the clinical implications of these findings? First, student health providers should be aware that even LITS, not just heavy daily users, are vulnerable to tobacco addiction and other health and safety risks related to their smoking. This is especially important given that college students who smoke often deny doing so (Berg et al., 2009; Levinson et al., 2007) and may discount the health effects GSK-3 of smoking (Thompson, Thompson, et al., 2007). All students should be screened for any tobacco use with a question that is unambiguous and covers a sufficient time period to capture the multiple transitions between smoking and quitting that non-daily smokers often experience (Hammond, 2005).