Correlates of Blunt Smoking Among African American, Hispanic/Latino, and White Adults: Results From the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

Background: Blunt use is highly prevalent in the United States and has been associated with several negative health consequences, such as an increased risk for cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. Although recent studies have identified characteristics (e.g., gender) that are associated with blunt use, it is unclear if these factors correlate with blunt use equally across racial/ethnic groups. Methods: Using cross-sectional data from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, this study aimed to determine if demographic, health and substance use correlates of current (i.e., past 30-day) and lifetime blunt use were similar across 37,628 non-Hispanic African American, Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic White adults. Results: Findings revealed 8.3% of African American, 3.3% of Hispanic/Latino and 2.5% of White adults reported current blunt smoking. Across all racial/ethnic groups, age and current and lifetime cigarette and illicit drug use were associated with current and lifetime blunt use. However, gender, educational level, income, current alcohol use and self-reported health status were differentially associated with current and lifetime blunt use across racial/ethnic groups. Employment status and lifetime depression were not associated with blunt use behaviors among any of the racial/ethnic groups. Conclusions: The relationship between gender, socioeconomic status, alcohol use and self-reported health status and blunt use differs among African American, Hispanic/Latino and White adults. Researchers and providers should consider the heterogeneity in factors that are associated with blunt use when designing prevention and treatment interventions for African American, Hispanic/Latino and White adult blunt smokers.