Correlates of smoking status in cancer survivors

purposeto determine the characteristics associated with cancer survivors which indicate continued cigarette smoking at or around the time of cancer diagnosis. methods:a total of 631 survivors were recruited in four cancer centers in memphis, tn, between march 2015 and june 2016. to increase the probability of accurate reporting, surveys were conducted anonymously. a total of 112 respondents reported they were current smokers and 202 reported they were former smokers (n = 314), who comprised the sample. results:we found that the rate of daily e-cigarette use among cancer survivors who smoked was 15.2% versus 3.9% in cancer survivors who no longer smoked. the national rate of adult e-cigarette use is 3.5%. multivariate models correlated the characteristics of current versus former smokers and revealed that increasing age (aor = 0.97, p < .0001), decreasing education (aor = 2.39, p < .02), and current use of e-cigarettes (aor = 3.74, p < .00045) were frequently associated with current cigarette smoking. conclusion:swhile age and gender were associated with continued smoking, current use of e-cigarettes was associated with almost four times higher odds of being a current smoker. further research is needed to determine if use of e-cigarettes deters or promotes the smoking cessation process, at least in cancer survivors. implications for cancer survivorsamong cancer survivors who continue to smoke after a cancer diagnosis, use of e-cigarettes is highly prevalent; research is needed to determine whether use of e-cigarettes promotes, has no effect, or hinders smoking cessation efforts among this vulnerable population.