Housing status as a social determinant of disparities in adolescent smoking, vaping, and dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes

Little is known about how various housing situations among adolescents may be associated with differential patterns of smoking and vaping-information with practical relevance for tobacco prevention and control efforts. We analyzed disparities by housing status in past 30-day smoking, vaping, and dual use of cigarettes and ecigarettes/vape products among adolescents participating in the population-based California Healthy Kids Survey (N = 931,355; 2017-2019). Generalized linear mixed models for a categorical outcome quantified differences in prevalence and adjusted odds ratios (AORs) of smoking only, vaping only, and dual use among adolescents in various housing situations relative to their peers living in a home with one or more parents/ guardians or other relatives. Our findings suggest adolescents living in a friend's home; adolescents living in a hotel, motel, shelter, car, campground, or other transitional or temporary housing; and adolescents living in a foster home, group care, or waiting placement evidenced pronounced disparities in past 30-day smoking only (AORs: 3.16-3.40, ps < 0.0001) and dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes/other nicotine vape products (AOR: 3.73-5.83, ps < 0.0001) relative to their peers living in a home with one or more parents/guardians or other relatives. Vaping only disparities, although significant, were relatively smaller (AORs: 1.53-1.88, ps < 0.0001). These findings emphasize housing as a social determinant of smoking, vaping, and dual use disparities among adolescents and have implications for multilevel preventive intervention development.