Nondaily tobacco use among Black and White college undergraduates: A comparison of nondaily versus daily tobacco users

Little is known about how the characteristics of college undergraduate nondaily tobacco users compare to daily tobacco users. We conducted a survey to compare the sociodemographic, tobacco use, psychological, and alcohol-related factors between nondaily versus daily tobacco users in a sample of Black and White college undergraduates aged 18-24 years (N = 1623). Of this sample, 301 (18.5%) participants reported using tobacco in the previous 30 days. Of the participants reporting tobacco use in the past 30 days, 50 (16.6%) participants reported nondaily use and 21 (7.0%) participants reported daily use. Findings revealed that nondaily tobacco users were more likely than daily tobacco users to deny that use of tobacco has had a detrimental impact on their health (p < 0.001). Additionally, nondaily cigarette smokers reported a lower level of dependence than daily smokers (p < 0.001). White racial status and daily tobacco use was associated with cigarette smoking (p < 0.05), while Black racial status and nondaily tobacco use was associated with cigar smoking (p < 0.05). Use of more than one type of tobacco product was associated with White racial status (p < 0.05) and male gender (p < 0.001). Our findings expand what is known about undergraduate nondaily tobacco users and provides valuable data for designing interventions for these individuals.