Document Type

Poster

Date

4-9-2026

Keywords

Tobacco, Service members, Veterans, Hazardous duty exposure

Campus Community

Center for Health Behavior Research and Innovation; College of Arts and Sciences; Veteran and Military Behavioral Health Collaborative; D'Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families; Syracuse University

Language

English

Funder(s)

Center for Health Behavior Research & Innovation, D'Aniello Institute of Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, Veteran & Military Health Collaborative

Disciplines

Military and Veterans Studies

Description/Abstract

Introduction: Student servicemembers and veterans (SS/V) use tobacco products at higher rates than the general college student population. These students face unique stressors during and after military service, which may influence their health behaviors, including tobacco product use. One such stressor is hazardous duty exposure, as previous research indicates that veterans with riskier deployments and greater deployment stress are more likely to engage in tobacco use. However, no prior research has examined the relationship between hazardous duty exposure and tobacco use among SS/V. Method: Participants included 4,626 SS/V who completed the 2023-2025 National College Health Assessment (NCHA) III. Participants were defined as using tobacco if they endorsed past 3-month use of tobacco or nicotine delivery products, and were defined as having hazardous duty exposure if they indicated that they had served in a geographic area of hazardous duty. Age and gender were included as covariates. Results: 40% of SS/V reported hazardous duty exposure. Among those with hazardous duty exposure, 28.1% engaged in tobacco use, compared to 25.2% without hazardous duty. Logistic regression results indicated that hazardous duty was positively associated with higher odds of tobacco use (AOR = 1.31, p < .001), than those with no hazardous duty exposure. Discussion: These findings suggest a positive association between hazardous duty exposure and tobacco use among SS/V. More specifically, SS/V with hazardous duty exposure were 31% more likely to use tobacco products than those with no hazardous duty. This study highlights the importance of targeted prevention and cessation efforts among servicemembers and veterans in college settings. Future research may be needed to determine whether certain types of hazardous duty (combat exposure, environmental hazards, high-risk operations, or deployment length) are more strongly associated with tobacco use.

Download

Share

COinS