North State Smoking

There have been significant declines in tobacco use in California over the past several decades. However, high rates of tobacco use – especially cigarette smoking – still remain among some groups. This includes rural young adults. To date, research has neglected rural communities and little is known about how the young adults who live in these areas think about their tobacco use. This project sought to understand how tobacco is integrated into the everyday lives of young adults who live in the North State.

Image by Emily Kaner

We conducted 100 interviews with young women and men who live in 12 adjacent counties in the northeastern part of California. Interviews began with discussions about living in a rural community and background questions related to family, friends, and daily life in general. This was so that we could get to know each participant and understand the circumstances that surround their tobacco use.

We then asked questions about tobacco use, including when and why they started/stopped using various tobacco products, what they like/dislike about them, where and when they typically use tobacco products, and what they think about state policies that restrict using certain tobacco products. Our goal was to understand how participants themselves describe and think about their own tobacco use.

Participation was voluntary, and each participant who completed both the confidential survey and interview received $70 in total to thank them for their time. Participants received $20 after completing the survey and $50 after completing the interview. This study received ethical approval from the Committee of the Protection of Human Subjects at the Institute for Scientific Analysis in Alameda, CA.