Objectives. We examined the relationship between students' tobacco use and the density and proximity of tobacco retailers near their schools. Methods. We used data from the 2003–2004 California Student Tobacco Survey and California retail licensing data. Measures included students' self-reported tobacco use and geocoded state-reported locations of tobacco retailers. We used random-intercept generalized linear mixed modeling to jointly evaluate individual-level and school-level predictors. Results. Density of retailers was associated with experimental smoking (odds ratio [OR] = 1.11; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02, 1.21) but not established smoking (OR = 1.06; 95% CI = 0.94, 1.20). The effects on experimental smoking were confined to high school students (OR = 1.17; 95% CI = 1.06, 1.29) in urban areas (OR = 1.11; 95% CI = 1.01, 1.21); no effects were observed among middle school students or in rural schools. High school students were more likely to obtain cigarettes from a retailer; middle school students relied more heavily on social sources. Conclusions. Our results support the plausibility of reducing rates of students' experimental smoking, but not established smoking, by restricting their access to commercial sources of tobacco in urban areas.

Does tobacco use in polydrug users relate to future daily functioning (SF-36) and disability? To answer this question, community-living polydrug users (n = 254) were interviewed at baseline, 1-year and 2-year follow-up. Measures included: smoking status and self-reported disability at each assessment, and SF-36 measures collected at the final assessment. Urine samples permitted validation of reported drug use status. Results revealed that baseline disability rates were high but fell nearly 50% over two years. Disabilities named were similar to those reported in the general population. Change in smoking status was associated with decreased disability and improvements in general health and vitality. Respondents reporting disability reported lower daily functioning (SF-36). Stable everyday smoking was strongly associated with increased probability of positive urine tests for illicit drug use. Illicit drug use did not affect SF-36 ratings. Findings suggest that tobacco use by polydrug users is related to disability rates, to illicit drug use and to variations in daily functioning.

This study examined the association between presence of e-cigarette specialty retailers near schools and e-cigarette use among middle and high school students in Orange County (OC), CA. The OC subsample of the 2013-2014 California Healthy Kids Survey (N=67,701) was combined with geocoded e-cigarette retailers to determine whether a retailer was present within one-quarter mile of each public school in OC. Multilevel logistic regression models evaluated individual-level and school-level e-cigarette use correlates among middle and high school students. Among middle school students, the presence of an e-cigarette retailer within one-quarter mile of their school predicted lifetime e-cigarette use (OR=1.70, 95% CI=1.02, 2.83), controlling for confounders but no effect for current use. No significant effect was found for high school students. E-cigarette specialty retailers clustered around schools may be an environmental influence on student e-cigarette experimentation.