Cigarette and E-Cigarette Use in Greater Philadelphia: Proportion of Use Compared to National Data and Local Predictors of Smoking Status

Authors

• Munjireen Sifat, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
• Joshua Banks, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
• Lilianna Phan
• Kuang-Yi Wen, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
• Julie A. Barta, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
• Rebecca J. Melillo, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
• Hee-Soon Juon, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-14-2026

Comments

This article is the author’s final published version in Preventive Medicine Reports, Volume 67, 2026, Article number 103498.

The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2026.103498. Copyright © 2026 The Authors.

Abstract

UNLABELLED: Objective tobacco use, cigarette, e-cigarette, cancer-related beliefs, perceived risk, lifestyle attribution, cancer disparities, health equity. We assessed cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use in the Greater Philadelphia region alongside national data. The objectives were to descriptively explore differences in tobacco use by sociodemographic characteristics. We also examined cancer belief associations with smoking and e-cigarette use in the local context.

METHODS: We descriptively compared cross-sectional survey data from 2744 adults in the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (SKCCC) catchment area (Greater Philadelphia region; May-July 2022) with 6252 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 6) nationally representative respondents (United States; March-November 2022). Multivariable logistic regression identified factors associated with tobacco use in the local context.

RESULTS: Higher prevalence of cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use were observed in the SKCCC catchment compared to national data. Racial/ethnic minority groups reported higher tobacco use. Locally, perceived susceptibility and belief that chances of getting cancer cannot be reduced were associated with use of both products. Locally, sociodemographic factors including low education, financial hardship, and perceived discrimination predicted higher tobacco use.

CONCLUSIONS: Regionally tailored public health interventions are warranted to address cancer beliefs and social determinants of health to reduce tobacco-related cancer disparities and promote health equity.

Recommended Citation

Sifat, Munjireen; Banks, Joshua; Phan, Lilianna; Wen, Kuang-Yi; Barta, Julie A.; Melillo, Rebecca J.; and Juon, Hee-Soon, "Cigarette and E-Cigarette Use in Greater Philadelphia: Proportion of Use Compared to National Data and Local Predictors of Smoking Status" (2026). College of Population Health Faculty Papers. Paper 248.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/healthpolicyfaculty/248

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Language

English