Megan Pumper

Hookah's new popularity among US college students: a pilot study of the characteristics of hookah smokers and their Facebook displays.

Objectives (1) To confirm the prevalence of hookah use among US college students. (2) To identify substances commonly smoked in hookahs and other substance use characteristics of hookah smokers. (3) Given the powerful influence of Facebook and its potential role in promoting behaviours, to assess the prevalence of hookah references on Facebook profiles. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Two large US universities; www.Facebook.com. Participants 307 Facebook profiles were coded and 216 of these profile owners completed an online survey. On average, participants were 18.8 years old (SD=0.7), women (54%), Caucasian (70.4%) and approximately half were from each university. Outcome measures Lifetime and frequency of hookah use, substance smoked in hookah, cigarette and marijuana use, hookah references displayed on Facebook. Results 27.8% of participants endorsed hookah use; there were no significant differences between age, gender, race or university for hookah use. Hookah users reported smoking tobacco (78%), hash (12%) and both tobacco and marijuana/hash (10%) in their hookah. Compared with non-hookah smokers, hookah smokers were more likely to report using cigarettes (OR=3.41, 95%CI=1.2 to 9.64) and marijuana (OR=15.01, 95%CI=6.5 to 34.65). Hookah references were present on 5% of Facebook profiles. Conclusions More than one quarter of college students smoke hookah. Most smoke tobacco in their hookah, and hookah smoking is associated with polysubstance use. Hookah may present new risks for nicotine addiction in this population.

Identifying High-Risk Alcohol Users in First-Year College Students: Attitude,Intention, and Facebook

PURPOSE It is challenging to identify older adolescents at risk for alcohol dependence. This study investigated first-year college students who scored as dependent alcohol users (DAU), and examined their alcohol use and Facebook displays. MATERIALS AND METHODS This longitudinal study recruited college students at two universities to complete a phone interview prior to college (Time 1) and one year later (Time 2). Interviews assessed lifetime and current alcohol use, and attitude (scale of 0=very negative to 6=very positive) and intention (scale of 0=not at all likely to 5=very likely) toward alcohol use. The alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) was administered at Time 2. Facebook profiles were evaluated for the presence of references to alcohol use and intoxication/problematic drinking (I/PD) prior to and throughout the participants first year at the university. Analyses included Chi-squared tests and Wilcoxon sign rank tests. RESULTS Of 315 participants in the study, a total of 21 (6.7%) of participants met criteria as a DAU at Time 2. DAUs were 54.5% female, 86.4% Caucasian, and 73.7% from University A. At Time 1 all DAUs reported lifetime alcohol use and 91.1% were current drinkers. At Time 2, 95.7% were current drinkers. At Time 1, DAUs mean attitude toward alcohol was 4.0 (SD=1.0) and mean intention was 4.0 (SD=1.4); by Time 2 attitude was 4.6 (SD=0.9), p=0.02, and intention was 4.9 (SD=0.3). At Time 1, 39.1% of DAUs displayed alcohol references on Facebook but only one referenced I/PD. By Time 2, 20 DAU profile owners (90.4%) displayed some reference to alcohol and 52.2% referenced I/PD. DISCUSSION Findings suggest areas in which dependence could be identified early, specifically attitude towards alcohol and assessment of Facebook profiles for references to alcohol. These findings have the potential to guide future intervention efforts for this high-risk population.