PI, Dr. Julianna Nemeth, OSU College of Public Health The Ohio State University –
One million homeless youth aged 24 years and younger smoke, representing a smoking prevalence of 70% ― 2.5 times higher than in other youth populations. Homeless youth typically smoke half of a pack daily, report high nicotine dependence, and engage in risky smoking practices including sharing cigarettes or smoking discarded butts, which raises risk of communicable disease in addition to tobacco attributable disease. Although 65% of homeless youth in one study made a quit attempt in the past year, 80% did so on their own “with no help from anyone and no medicine.” However, no known study has focused specifically on smoking cessation effectiveness with homeless youth—a notable public health oversight. This study will engage homeless youth in developing a smoking cessation intervention.
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