Association of School Social Networks' Influence and Mass Media Factors With Cigarette Smoking Among Asthmatic Students

BACKGROUND Around 10% of adolescent students under 18 years have current asthma. Asthmatic adolescents smoke as much or more than non‐asthmatic adolescents. We explored the association between exposure to mass media and social networks' influence with asthmatic student smoking, and variations of these exposures by sex. METHODS This study included 9755 asthmatic and 38,487 non‐asthmatic middle and high school students. Secondary data analysis incorporated the complex sample design; and univariate, bivariate, and logistic regression statistics. RESULTS Asthmatic students had greater odds of smoking than non‐asthmatic students. Asthmatic female students were more likely than asthmatic male students to have been exposed to secondhand smoke in rooms or cars and to smoking actors, but less likely to associate smoking with intent to wear tobacco‐marketing products, or with looking cool/fitting in. Asthmatic male and female students, who have smoking friends, were exposed to secondhand smoke in rooms (only girls) or cars, intended to smoke if best friends offered cigarettes, or received/bought tobacco marketing products had greater odds of smoking than other asthmatic students. CONCLUSIONS The observed associations suggest the need for general interventions to reduce middle and high school students' cigarette smoking as well as targeted interventions for asthmatic adolescent students.