1. Tobacco and marijuana use during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown among American Indians residing in California and Oklahoma.
- Author
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Dang, Julie H. T., Chen, Sixia, Hall, Spencer, Campbell, Janis E., Chen Jr., Moon S., and Doescher, Mark P.
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CANNABIS (Genus) , *SUBSTANCE abuse , *COVID-19 , *CROSS-sectional method , *AGE distribution , *PSYCHOLOGY of Native Americans , *INCOME , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *EMPLOYMENT , *HEALTH attitudes , *ALCOHOL drinking , *RESEARCH funding , *STAY-at-home orders , *SMOKING , *STATISTICAL sampling , *MARITAL status , *COVID-19 pandemic - Abstract
INTRODUCTION American Indian (AI) people experience a disproportionate tobacco and marijuana burden which may have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about the tobacco and marijuana habits of American Indian individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study is to examine tobacco and marijuana use as well as change in use during the COVID-19 pandemic among the American Indian community. METHODS This cross-sectional study analyzes survey data from a convenience sample of American Indian individuals residing in California and Oklahoma and included adults with and without cancer that resided in both rural and urban areas (n=1068). RESULTS During October 2020 -- January 2021, 36.0% of participants reported current use of tobacco products, 9.9% reported current use of marijuana products, and 23.7% reported increased use of tobacco and/or marijuana in the past 30 days, with no difference between those with cancer and those without cancer. Tobacco use was associated with marital status, age, employment status, COVID-19 exposure, COVID-19 beliefs, and alcohol consumption. Marijuana use was associated with COVID-19 beliefs, alcohol consumption, and income level. Increased tobacco and/or marijuana use was associated with baseline use of those products. Nearly a quarter of participants reported increased use of tobacco and/ or marijuana products during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS We observed high rates of tobacco use during the COVID-19 pandemic, consistent with other studies. Research is needed to examine whether tobacco and marijuana use will decrease to pre-pandemic levels post-pandemic or if these behaviors will persist post-pandemic. Given these findings, there is a pressing need to increase access to evidence-based tobacco and marijuana treatment services in the AI population post COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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