Cigarette sharing and gifting in China: Patterns, associated factors, and behavioral outcomes

Dan Wu; Guihua Jiao; Huan Hu; Lu Zhang; Lixin Huang; Shuhan Jiang

doi:10.18332/tid/144054

Cigarette sharing and gifting in China: Patterns, associated factors, and behavioral outcomes

Tob Induc Dis. 2022 Jan 28:20:08. doi: 10.18332/tid/144054. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Dan Wu¹, Guihua Jiao², Huan Hu¹, Lu Zhang¹, Lixin Huang¹, Shuhan Jiang³

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, Center for Mental Health, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
² Department of Psychology, Research Center on Quality of Life and Applied Psychology, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China.
³ School of Humanities and Management, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the patterns and factors associated with cigarette sharing and gifting, and to explore whether smoking can be predicted by these social practices.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a multi-stage sampling design was conducted online from 30 April to 30 July 2020 in China. A sample of 982 household heads from Guangdong Province and 530 household heads from Shaanxi province were involved in the data analysis. Demographic characteristics, social participation, beliefs and behaviors related to cigarette sharing and gifting were assessed. Chi-squared analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to explore the key factors associated with cigarette sharing and gifting, and to identify their relationship with smoking.

Results: The shared and gift cigarettes were both mainly offered to friends, and receiving gift cigarettes mostly occurred during the holidays. Gender and province were associated with cigarette sharing, and marital status and social participation were associated with cigarette gifting. Cigarette gifting beliefs and smoking status were prominent predictors for both sharing and gifting cigarettes. Cigarette gifting beliefs were significantly higher among smokers than non-smokers, and people with high cigarette gifting beliefs were 1.68 (adjusted odds ratio, AOR=19.17; 95% CI: 13.31-27.61) times more likely to be a smoker. Offering shared cigarettes has been found to significantly predict tobacco use (AOR=19.17; 95% CI: 13.31-27.61), while people who received shared and gift cigarettes were 1.50 (95% CI: 1.08-2.09) and 2.58 (95% CI: 1.66-4.00) times more likely to be a current smoker than those who did not receive cigarettes, respectively.

Conclusions: Cigarette sharing and gifting were especially pervasive among male smokers and married people in Shaanxi Province. Offering shared cigarettes and receiving shared/gift cigarettes might facilitate cigarette use. This study provides evidence-based data to support the design and implementation of tobacco control programs for the denormalization of gifting and sharing cigarettes.

Keywords: behavioral outcome; beliefs; cigarette gifting; cigarette sharing; social participation.