Centre for Development, Evaluation, Complexity and Implementation in Public Health Improvement, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3BD, UK.
Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, CF5 2YB, UK.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2021 Dec 10;43(4):e620-e628. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdaa174.
While tobacco smoking has declined among UK youth in recent decades, cannabis use has begun to show some growth. Given their interrelationship, growth in cannabis use may act as a barrier to continued reduction in youth smoking. This paper assesses recent tobacco and cannabis use trends in Wales, and their association, to explore whether change in cannabis use might have impacted youth tobacco smoking prevalence.
Repeat cross-sectional data on tobacco and cannabis use were obtained from biennial Welsh Student Health and Wellbeing surveys between 2013 and 2019. Data were pooled and analysed using logistic regression with adjustment for school-level clustering.
No change in regular youth tobacco smoking was observed between 2013 and 2019. In contrast, current cannabis use increased during this time, and cannabis users had significantly greater odds of regular tobacco smoking. After adjusting for change in cannabis use, a significant decline in youth tobacco smoking was observed (OR 0.95; 95% confidence intervals: 0.92, 0.97).
Recent growth in cannabis use among young people in Wales may have offset prospective declines in regular tobacco smoking. Further reductions in youth smoking may require more integrated policy approaches to address the co-use of tobacco and cannabis among adolescents.
尽管英国青少年的吸烟率在近几十年来有所下降，但大麻的使用量开始出现增长。鉴于它们之间的相互关系，大麻使用量的增长可能会成为青少年吸烟率持续下降的障碍。本文评估了威尔士最近的烟草和大麻使用趋势及其关联，以探讨大麻使用量的变化是否可能影响青少年的吸烟率。
从 2013 年至 2019 年，我们利用威尔士学生健康和幸福感的两年一次的调查，获得了关于烟草和大麻使用情况的重复横断面数据。对数据进行了汇总和分析，使用逻辑回归进行分析，并对学校层面的聚类进行了调整。
在 2013 年至 2019 年间，青少年吸烟的频率没有变化。相比之下，在此期间，当前大麻的使用量有所增加，而且大麻使用者吸烟的可能性显著更高。在调整了大麻使用量的变化后，青少年吸烟的频率显著下降（OR 0.95；95%置信区间：0.92，0.97）。
威尔士年轻人中大麻使用量的最近增长可能抵消了青少年吸烟率的预期下降。要进一步降低青少年的吸烟率，可能需要采取更综合的政策方法来解决青少年同时使用烟草和大麻的问题。
