The effect of working for pay on adolescent tobacco use.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated the links between working for pay and adolescent tobacco use to determine whether working for pay increases smoking risk.


METHODS
We performed retrospective and prospective analyses using data from a cohort of 799 predominantly African American students in Baltimore, Md, who had been followed since the first grade.


RESULTS
At the 10th year of follow-up, when the adolescents were aged 14 to 18 years, there was a positive relationship between the time they spent working for pay and current tobacco use. This relationship was attenuated somewhat after adjustment for potential selection effects. Adolescents who spent more than 10 hours per week working for pay also tended to initiate tobacco use earlier than did their peers. Among adolescents who had not yet used tobacco, those who started to work 1 year after assessment and those who worked over 2 consecutive assessments had an elevated risk of initiating use relative to adolescents who did not start working.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a strong link between working for pay and adolescent tobacco use. Policymakers should monitor the conditions under which young people work to help minimize young workers' tobacco use and potential for initiating use.
Ramchand
Rajeev
R
Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md, USA. rajeev_ramchand@rand.org
Ialongo
Nicholas S
NS
Chilcoat
Howard D
HD
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data