Unknown population-level harms of cannabis and tobacco co-use: if you don't measure it, you can't manage it.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Nationally representative data of cannabis-tobacco co-use have shown that these substances are closely entwined and have significant adverse health consequences, although population-level harms of co-use are largely unknown. Current epidemiological research does not assess co-use in a manner that has yielded the necessary data to draw conclusions regarding health effects. This has given rise to a hidden population of co-users who go under-served. Therefore, this paper has two aims: (1) to review new challenges in the collection of co-use data due to rapidly changing regulations of cannabis and nicotine products and (2) to provide recommendations for the terminology and assessment of co-use.

Argument

We argue that: (1) the prevalence of co-use is not being assessed

SUBMITTER: Hindocha C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8041912 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature