Correlates of exclusive or combined use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco among male adolescents.

Past studies which examined correlates of smokeless tobacco or cigarette use have investigated use of one tobacco product regardless of use of the other product. Thus, the etiology of exclusive use of the two tobacco products is not clear. The present study investigated the relationship of problem-prone-related variables to exclusive versus overlapping use of smokeless tobacco and cigarettes. Two samples of southern California male students (eighth-grade and high school) were divided into groups according to their tobacco use status: neither product, cigarettes only, smokeless tobacco only, or both tobacco products. Generally, triers and monthly users of both tobacco products reported a higher risk-taking preference, greater susceptibility to peer social influence to use tobacco products, and greater likelihood to have tried marijuana and alcohol than did subjects who were not users of either tobacco product. Adolescents who used either product, but not both, reported similar scores on most of the variables examined, which fell in between combined or nonuse categories. These results suggest that the number of tobacco products used, not the specific product, is associated with problem-prone attributes.