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Researchers analyzed data from more than 30,000 California high school students
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — A new analysis by experts at nonprofit research institute RTI International found a significant association between experiences of discrimination and current tobacco use and vaping among high school students in California. Among students who had experienced discrimination, reported tobacco use and vaping in the past 30 days was almost double that of students who did not report discrimination, according to the study.
“The results of our analysis highlight the deleterious effects of discrimination on tobacco use among high school students in California,” said Chelci Harris, first author and research analyst at RTI. “This study adds vape use to the litany of negative health outcomes associated with discrimination during adolescence. Schools should approach tobacco and vape control from a supportive, rather than punitive, perspective.”
The analysis used information obtained from the California Youth Tobacco Survey. The survey used the Everyday Discrimination Scale to measure discrimination, which captures specific experiences of discrimination, such as being followed around a store, and asks youth to report one or more reasons they experienced discrimination.
Two-thirds of respondents (66.1%) reported any discrimination in the past month. Twenty percent (21.2%) of youth reported racial discrimination, and more than half of youth (59.5%) reported nonracial discrimination. Among youth who reported any discrimination, 8.6% reported currently using tobacco; among those who didn’t have these experiences, only 4.4% reported currently using tobacco. Similarly, vaping prevalence was 6.9% among students reporting any discrimination, compared to 3.6% among those who did not report any discrimination.
The analysis also found:
- The most reported experiences of discrimination were youth feeling as if they were being treated with less courtesy or respect than others and people acting as if they were not smart.
- The most reported reasons for experiencing discrimination were physical appearance, age, and race/ethnicity.
- Black students reported the highest prevalence of racial discrimination.
- Nonracial discrimination also varied by race/ethnicity, with multiracial students reporting the highest prevalence of nonracial discrimination.
- After accounting for discrimination, the odds of current tobacco use and vaping were significantly higher for LGBTQ+ individuals, those with poor mental health, and older participants in all models.
The study, conducted for the California Tobacco Prevention Program, part of the California Department of Public Health, and published in Social Science & Medicine, used data from the 2023 California Youth Tobacco Survey. The research team focused on responses from more than 30,000 10th and 12th grade students attending public schools in 2023.
