Adolescent nicotine and marijuana vaping activity and the use of other illicit substances

Abstract

Purpose: Previous research links cigarette use and marijuana use in adolescence with the use of other illicit substances. Limited research, however, has explored whether vaping nicotine and marijuana, along with using these substances through multiple modes of delivery (traditional cigarette/marijuana use and vaping) is associated with the use of other illicit substances in adolescence.

Procedures: This study addresses this gap in the literature by employing negative binomial regression to examine the relationships between three categories of nicotine users (traditional cigarettes only, nicotine vaping only, and dual mode nicotine use), three categories of marijuana users (traditional marijuana use only, marijuana vaping only, and dual mode marijuana use), and the use of other illicit substances in a sample of Florida middle school and high school students.

Findings: Our findings reveal that nicotine vaping and dual mode use of both nicotine and marijuana are associated with the use of a greater variety of illicit substances compared to non-users.

Conclusions: In conclusion, our findings suggest that dual mode use of nicotine and marijuana are associated with greater likelihood of using other illicit substances. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

Keywords: Adolescence; Marijuana; Nicotine; Substance use; Vaping.