315
Views
10
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Characterizing Blunt Use Among Twitter Users: Racial/Ethnic Differences in Use Patterns and Characteristics

, &
Pages 501-507 | Published online: 14 Sep 2017
 

ABSTRACT

Background: Young adult Twitter users are exposed to and often participate in tweets that promote risky behaviors, such as blunt use. Blunts are hollowed out cigars or cigarillos that are filled with marijuana. Objectives: The current study was designed to determine the use patterns and characteristics of African American, Hispanic and White young adult Twitter users who reported past month blunt use. Methods: Young adults (N = 753, 74% male) who reported past month blunt use were recruited via Twitter to participate in a brief anonymous online survey about their blunt use. Results: Findings revealed that African American young adults initiated blunt smoking at an earlier age (14.8 years), reported more days of blunt smoking in the past month (23.2 days) and smoked more blunts in the past month (27.2 blunts) than their Hispanic (16.5 years, 19.7 days, and 15.4 blunts) and White (18.1 years, 15.8 days, and 22.2 blunts) counterparts, p <.01. African American young adults were more likely than their White counterparts to report physical craving as an obstacle to quitting blunt smoking. Several racial/ethnic differences were also found on attitudes about blunt use and reasons for initiating and continuing to smoke blunts. Conclusions: Findings suggest that blunt use patterns and attitudes about blunt use vary by race/ethnicity. Understanding racial/ethnic differences in blunt use patterns and characteristics offers opportunities to tailor future interventions and enhance outcomes among African American, Hispanic and White young adults.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 943.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.