Ling PM, et al. – This study entailed the exploration of social/cultural groups (i.e., “peer crowds”) that shared common values, aspirations, and activities in social venues like bars and nightclubs to aid in the prevention of cancer among high–risk young adult smokers. It was determined that bar attendance and affiliation with certain peer crowds conferred considerably higher smoking risk. Interventions targeting Hip Hop and Country peer crowds could efficiently reach smokers. The peer crowd–tailored interventions were found to be related to decreased smoking and binge drinking. Targeted interventions in bars and nightclubs could serve as an efficient way to address these cancer risks.

Methods

• The scheme of this research was a multimodal population-based household survey.
• It enrolled young adults residing in San Francisco and Alameda counties.
• Data were collected in 2014 and analyzed in 2016.
• Multivariable logistic regressions evaluated smoking by sociodemographic factors, attitudes, self-rated health, peer crowd affiliation, and bar/nightclub attendance.

Results

• Smoking prevalence was found to be 15.1% overall; 35.3% of respondents sometimes or frequently attended bars.
• The bar attendance (AOR=2.13, 95% CI=1.00, 4.53) and binge drinking (AOR=3.17, 95% CI=1.59, 6.32) correlated with greater odds of smoking, as was affiliation with “Hip Hop” (AOR=4.32, 95% CI=1.48, 12.67) and “Country” (AOR=3.13, 95% CI=1.21, 8.09) peer crowds, in controlled analyses.
• Multivariable models controlling for demographics measured a high probability of smoking among bar patrons affiliating with Hip Hop (47%) and Country (52%) peer crowds.