Spit Tobacco Use in Texas
There is limited data on the use of spit tobacco in Texas. What data exists comes primarily from the Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the Texas School Survey on Substance Use Among Students, and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Sponsored by the Texas Department of Health's Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, the Texas BRFSS is a monthly telephone survey which interviews randomly-selected, non-institutionalized, adult Texas residents. BRFSS data collected during the 1996 survey year indicates that the prevalence of spit tobacco use among adult males in Texas is 8%, while use among adult females is only 0.4%. Twenty-five to thirty-four year-old males currently comprise the largest proportion of adult spit tobacco users (Figure 6). Although this represents a shift from the highest user rate previously reported in 18-24 year-olds, firm conclusions cannot yet be made as to whether or not this change constitutes a significant trend. The bulk of all spit tobacco use was reported by men in the lowest and highest income strata (Figure 7). Although not yet statistically significant, these income levels may suggest a rising trend in spit tobacco use among males of higher incomes and a higher user rate in the 25-34 year-old age group than reported previously.[36]
Texas Male Spit Tobacco Users by Age
Source: Texas Department of Health
1996 Texas BRFSS
Texas Male Spit Tobacco Users by Household Income
Source: Texas Department of Health
1996 Texas BRFSS
Administered by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA), the Texas School Survey on Substance Use Among Students focuses on students in school districts across the state. The 1994 survey found that 23.8% of twelfth-grade students admitted to ever having used spit tobacco.[37] Survey data from 1996 reveals that 5.4% of Texas secondary school students admitted to having used spit tobacco within the last thirty days.[38]
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