Abstract
Data from the Canadian Youth Smoking Survey (n = 27,030 in 2006; n = 16,705 in 2004; n = 11,757 in 2002) were used to examine changes in the prevalence and comorbid use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana over time and examine if demographic factors and binge drinking are associated with comorbid substance use among youth. Alcohol was the most prevalent substance used, and it was rare to find youth who had used tobacco or marijuana without also having tried alcohol. Youth who reported binge drinking were substantially more likely to also have tried tobacco and/or marijuana. These data suggest that multi-substance prevention programs are required for youth populations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adlaf, E. M., & Paglia, A. (2005). Drug use among Ontario students 1977–2005: OSDUS highlights. Toronto, Canada: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Amos, A., Wiltshire, S., Bostock, Y., Haw, S., & McNeil, A. (2004). ‘You can’t go without a fag…you need it for hash’—a qualitative exploration of smoking, cannabis and young people. Addiction, 99(1), 77–81.
Anderson, P. (2006). Global use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco. Drug & Alcohol Review, 25(6), 489–502.
Bobo, J. K., & Husten, C. (2000). Sociocultural influences on smoking and drinking. Alcohol Research & Health, 24(4), 225–232.
Botvin, G. J., & Griffin, K. W. (2007). School-based programmes to prevent alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. International Review of Psychology, 19(6), 607–615.
Bovet, P., Viswanathan, B., Faeh, D., & Warren, W. (2006). Comparison of smoking, drinking, and marijuana use between students present or absent on the day of a school-based survey. Journal of School Health, 76(4), 133–137.
Camenga, D. R., Klein, J. D., & Roy, J. (2006). The changing risk profile of the American adolescent smokers: Implications for prevention programs and tobacco interventions. Journal of Adolescent Health, 39(1), 120e1–120e10.
Centers for Disease Control, Prevention. (1999). Best practices for comprehensive tobacco control programs. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.
Centers for Disease Control, Prevention. (2000). Reducing tobacco use: A report of the surgeon general. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2004). Surveillance Summaries, May 21, 2004. Morbidity Mortality Weekly Reports, 53, SS-2.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2007. Morbidity Mortality Weekly Reports, 57, SS-4.
Chaloupka, F. J. (1999). Macro-social influences: The effects of prices and tobacco-control policies on the demand for tobacco products. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 1(Suppl 1), S105–S109.
Chaloupka, F. J., Grossman, M., & Saffer, H. (2002). The effect of price on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Alcohol Research & Health, 26(1), 22–34.
Choquet, M., Morin, D., Hassler, C., & Ledoux, S. (2004). Is alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use as well as polydrug use increasing in France? Addictive Behaviors, 29(3), 607–614.
Crano, W. D., Siegel, J. T., Alvaro, E. M., Lac, A., & Hemovich, V. (2008). The at-risk adolescent marijuana non-user: Expanding the standard distinction. Prevention Science, 9(2), 129–137.
DuRant, R. H., Smith, J. A., Kreiter, S. R., & Krowchuk, D. P. (1999). The relationship between early age of onset of initial substance use and engaging in multiple health risk behaviors among young adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 153(3), 286–291.
Hall, W., & Solowij, N. (1998). Adverse effects of cannabis. Lancet, 352(9140), 1611–1616.
Health Canada. (2005). 2002 Youth Smoking Survey Technical Report. Ottawa, Canada: Minister of Health. Retrieved from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/pubs/tobac-tabac/yss-etj-2002/index_e.html.
Health Canada. (2007). 2004-05 Youth Smoking Survey. Ottawa, Canada: Minister of Health. Retrieved from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/tobac-tabac/research-recherche/stat/survey-sondage_2004-2005-eng.php.
Health Canada. (2008). 2006-07 Youth Smoking Survey. Ottawa, Canada: Minister of Health. Retrieved from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/tobac-tabac/research-recherche/stat/_survey-sondage_2006-2007/result-eng.php.
Humfleet, G. L., & Haas, A. L. (2004). Is marijuana use becoming a ‘gateway’ to nicotine dependence? Addiction, 99(1), 5–6.
Leatherdale, S. T., Hammond, D., & Ahmed, R. (2008). Alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use patterns among youth in Canada. Cancer Causes and Control, 19(4), 361–369.
Leatherdale, S. T., Hammond, D., Kaiserman, M., & Ahmed, R. (2007). Marijuana use among young adult smokers and non-smokers in Canada: Are they smoking what we think they are smoking? Cancer Causes and Control, 18(4), 391–397.
Madden, P. A., & Heath, A. C. (2002). Shared genetic vulnerability in alcohol and cigarette use and dependence. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 26(12), 1919–1921.
Nutt, D., King, L. A., Saulsbury, W., & Blakemore, C. (2007). Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse. Lancet, 369(9566), 1047–1053.
Poulin, C., & Elliot, D. (1997). Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use among Nova Scotia adolescents: Implications for prevention and harm reduction. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 156(10), 1387–1393.
Rehm, J., Taylor, B., & Room, R. (2006). Global burden of disease from alcohol, illicit drugs and tobacco. Drug & Alcohol Review, 25(6), 503–513.
Ringwalt, C., Hanley, S., Vincus, A. A., Ennett, S. T., Rohrbach, L. A., & Bowling, J. M. (2008). The prevalence of effective substance use prevention curricula in the Nation’s high schools. Journal of Primary Prevention, 29(6), 479–788.
SAS Institute Inc. (2001). The SAS system for windows. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc.
Schmid, B., Hohm, E., Blomeyer, D., Zimmermann, U. S., Schmidt, M. H., Esser, G., et al. (2007). Concurrent alcohol and tobacco use during early adolescence characterizes a group at risk. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 42(3), 219–225.
Tu, A. W., Ratner, P. A., & Johnson, J. L. (2008). Gender differences in the correlates of adolescents’ cannabis use. Subststance Use & Misuse, 43(10), 1438–1463.
Wiefferink, C. H., Peters, L., Hoekstra, F., Dam, G. T., Buijs, G. J., & Paulussen, T. G. W. M. (2006). Clustering of health-related behaviors and their determinants: Possible consequences for school health interventions. Prevention Science, 7(2), 127–149.
Wilson, N., Battistich, V., Syme, L., & Boyce, T. (2002). Does elementary school alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use increase middle school risk? Journal of Adolescent Health, 30(6), 442–447.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact and the Interdisciplinary Capacity Enhancement Program at the University of Waterloo for providing support for this project. Dr. Leatherdale is a Cancer Care Ontario Research Chair in Population Studies. The 2006–2007 Youth Smoking Survey is a product of a pan-Canadian capacity building project that includes Canadian tobacco control researchers from all provinces and provides training opportunities for university students at all levels. Production of this paper has been made possible through a financial contribution from Health Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leatherdale, S.T., Ahmed, R. Alcohol, Marijuana, and Tobacco Use Among Canadian Youth: Do We Need More Multi-Substance Prevention Programming?. J Primary Prevent 31, 99–108 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-010-0211-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-010-0211-y