early cigarette use behaviors and alcohol.pptVIP

EARLY CIGARETTE USE BEHAVIORS AND ALCOHOL Pamela A.F. Madden, Ph.D.*, Michele Pergadia, Ph.D., Michael Lynskey, Ph.D., and Andrew C. Heath, D.Phil. Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis Supported by NIH grants AA09022 and AA07728 (ACH), DA12854 and DA12540 (PAFM) and AA07580 (MLP) ABSTRACT Although much work has been done on the onset of cigarette smoking in adolescent and adult community samples, little work has focused on the identification of initial behaviors that signal risk of escalation in cigarette use. Analyses of retrospective data obtained in an ongoing study of male adolescent twins (N=509; 15 to 20 years of age), ascertained from Missouri birth records, suggest that the interval between smoking first and second whole cigarette predicts later risk of regular and of heavy cigarette smoking. Boys smoking their first and second whole cigarettes on the same day were up to 4 times (95% CI: 1.65-11.20) more likely to report a history of smoking 100+ cigarette lifetime, and up to 17 times (95%CI: 3.04-102.08) more likely to report a history of heavy smoking (more than 10 cigarettes per day). The strength of these associations was not diminished by controlling for early cigarette experimentation, smoking among peers, and initial reactions (i.e., experiences of dizziness and/or a buzz) with first cigarettes; each of which demonstrated strong associations with transitions to both regular and heavy smoking. In addition, this early characteristic of cigarette smoking appears to run in families together with later stages of cigarette and alcohol use. These findings suggest that the interval between first and second whole cigarette may prove to be a useful predictor of vulnerability for continued cigarette use for future research and preventive efforts. SAMPLE Population-based cohorts of like-sex male twins, 11-20 years of age (born 1991-1982), were ascertained through Missouri Birth Records, and new cohorts of 11-year old pairs continue to be recruit