Gw. Talcott et al., CO-OCCURRENT USE OF CIGARETTES, ALCOHOL, AND CAFFEINE IN A RETIRED MILITARY POPULATION, Military medicine, 163(3), 1998, pp. 133-138
Previous studies have linked the use of caffeine, nicotine, and alcoho
l to health complications and have also found that the use of these su
bstances significantly covary, Given the prevalence of health problems
of older adults, it is surprising that no studies to date have examin
ed the co-occurrent use of alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine in a senior
population. This investigation evaluated the co-occurrent use of ciga
rettes, caffeine, and alcohol in a community sample of older Americans
. Respondents (1,095 women and 1,371 men) completed a questionnaire ex
amining their use of caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. This study repli
cated earlier findings that tobacco, caffeine, and alcohol use co-occu
r and that there are consistent use patterns for these substances, The
results suggest that health organizations could better target service
s by prescreening for smoking, alcohol, and caffeine use and possibly
targeting smokers and ex-smokers for potentially problematic use patte
rns of caffeine and alcohol.