title: Smoking patterns and their relationship to drinking among first-year college students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Unlike older smokers, young adult smokers frequently engage in light and intermittent smoking. It remains unclear how stable such smoking patterns are over time, as substantial variability exists between these smokers. This study identified subgroups of college student smokers based on the trajectory of their smoking frequency during the first year of college, thereby examining stability versus instability over time. We then tested if the interplay between drinking and smoking differed in the identified groups to determine the relative role drinking may play in intermittent versus more regular smoking.
  
  
  METHODS
  Incoming college students at 3 institutions completed online biweekly surveys of their daily substance use throughout the first year of college. Students who reported smoking at least 1 cigarette during this year (n = 266) were included in analyses (70% female, 74% White).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Group-based trajectory modeling identified 5 groups of smokers, 3 of which maintained their smoking frequency throughout the year (77%), and 2 groups of infrequent smokers showed significant trends (11% increasing, 12% decreasing). Notably, nondaily smoking was maintained at different specific frequencies (e.g., 1 vs. 3 days per week). Identified groups differed in the relationship between drinking and smoking, where cooccurrence was particularly strong among infrequent smokers, and trends in smoking quantity differed between groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While there was a diversity of smoking patterns in the sample, patterns of intermittent smoking remain relatively stable for a majority of students throughout the year. Intervention messages targeting drinking and smoking should be tailored on the basis of smoking frequency.
authors.affiliation: Center for Addiction Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA;
authors.forename: Bettina B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Hoeppner
authors.forename: L Cinnamon
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Bidwell
authors.forename: Suzanne M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Colby
authors.forename: Nancy P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Barnett
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012907:Smoking / Q000639:trends*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult