Tobacco use among high school athletes and nonathletes: Results of the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey - Statistical Data Included

Adolescence, Winter, 2001 by Merrill J. Melnick, Kathleen E. Miller, Donald F. Sabo, Michael P. Farrell, Grace M. Barnes

While recent statistics indicate that the mid-1990s cigar smoking frenzy in the United States has subsided (Shriver, 1999), estimated retail sales of premium cigars still reached $500 million in 1999. Far from a safe alternative to cigarettes (5 cigars a day is equivalent to smoking 1 pack of cigarettes), the Federal Trade Commission required health warnings on cigar packages and in advertisements beginning in early 2001 ("FTC, Cigar Makers Agree on Warnings," 2000). The fact that the number of cigar smokers in the U.S. has doubled since 1986 has the FTC especially concerned. Given the paucity of research on teenage cigar smoking, the present study fills an important void in the literature.

The primary goal of the investigation was to assess whether high school athletic participation is associated with greater or lesser odds of cigarette and cigar smoking and smokeless tobacco use. We also sought to determine whether there are gender differences with respect to tobacco use among athletes and nonathletes. The following null hypotheses were tested: (1) there will be no significant differences in cigarette and cigar smoking and smokeless tobacco use between athletes and nonathletes; and (2) there will be no significant differences in cigarette and cigar smoking and smokeless tobacco use between male and female athletes.

METHOD

Survey Design

The 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the purpose of monitoring the prevalence of health-risk behaviors among adolescents. These behaviors, which are frequently interrelated, include those resulting in intentional or unintentional injuries; use of substances such as tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs; sexual behavior with the potential of leading to unintended pregnancy or HIV infection; unhealthy dietary behaviors; and physical inactivity. The national, school-based YRBS was conducted in 1990, again in 1991, and biennially during odd-numbered years since then. For the 1997 target year, students completed a self-administered, 84-item questionnaire that included questions about basic demographic characteristics and adolescent lifestyle behaviors that contribute either directly or indirectly to morbidity and mortality.

Data Collection and Definitions

A total of 16,262 questionnaires were completed in 151 public and private high schools for a response rate of 79%, and a student response rate of 87%. Although YRBS assesses adolescent health-risk behaviors in seven domains, the present investigation focuses only on tobacco use, specifically, cigarette and cigar smoking and smokeless tobacco use (chewing tobacco and dipping snuff). Since some respondents chose not to answer all of the tobacco use questions, sample sizes vary across the different variables.

The athletic participation variable was measured by combining responses to two items on YRBS, namely (1) "During the past 12 months, on how many sports teams run by your school did you play (Do not include physical education classes)?"; and (2) "During the past 12 months, on how many sports teams run by organizations outside of your school did you play?" This allowed the researchers to create dichotomous ("Did not participate on any teams"; "Participated on one or more teams") and tripartite ("Did not participate on any teams"; "Participated on one or two teams"; "Participated on three or more teams") response categories.