Factors associated with readiness to quit smoking among young adults enrolled in a Facebook-based tobacco and alcohol intervention study.

Introduction: Young adults who smoke cigarettes often report heavy episodic drinking (HED) and co-use of other psychoactive substances which may complicate efforts to quit cigarette smoking. The current study examined factors associated with readiness to quit cigarette smoking among young adults who smoke and engage in HED.

Methods: One hundred seventy-nine young adults aged 18 to 25 who reported regular cigarette smoking and past month HED enrolled in the 90-day Facebook-based Smoking Tobacco and Drinking (STAND) intervention study. Analyses compared baseline differences in patterns of cigarette smoking and alcohol and cannabis use, thoughts about abstinence, use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), sociodemographic characteristics, and other health behaviors between participants who were ready to quit cigarette smoking in the next 30 days and those who were not.

Results: Participants were 40.2% female, 49.7% male, 10.1% non-binary, and 80.4% Non-Hispanic White. They reported on average moderate nicotine dependence (FTCD), moderate risk for alcohol use disorder (AUDIT), and occasional or regular cannabis use. Readiness to quit cigarette smoking in the next 30 days (33.5%) was positively associated with age (p = .021), NRT use in the past 30 days (p = .037) and perceived importance to also reduce alcohol use (p = .033).

Conclusions: Findings indicate that readiness to quit cigarette smoking among young adults who drink is positively associated with importance to reduce alcohol use, but not with use patterns or levels of dependence. Interventions addressing polysubstance use may be better suited to help young adults reduce or quit cigarette smoking once they signal readiness for behavior change.