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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Jessica R. Schumacher, MS, Tobacco Control Section, California Department of Health Services, 601 North 7th Street, PO Box 942732, MS 555, Sacramento, CA 94234-7320, (916) 324-3719, jschuma1@dhs.ca.gov
A disparate burden of cigarette use has been demonstrated by race/ethnicity. Nationally, Hispanic ethnicity is negatively associated with smoking prevalence, while American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) have the highest smoking prevalence rates. California has been shown to have lower prevalence rates and greater relative prevalence declines than the U.S.. It is unclear however, whether this trend is consistent within all racial/ethnic groups. We examined patterns of adult current smoking prevalence in California and the U.S. by race and Hispanic ethnicity, using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFS). U.S. estimates exclude California and Puerto Rico. California and U.S. data were re-weighted and age-adjusted to the U.S. 1990 population. Patterns of smoking by race/ethnicity are different in California than in the U.S.. Smoking rates are highest among AI/ANs, followed by African-Americans, whites, Hispanics, and Asian and Pacific Islanders (A/PI). The U.S. pattern is similar, however, whites have the second highest rates, while African-Americans have the third highest. In addition, while smoking rates are significantly lower in California than the U.S. among whites and Hispanics, there is no significant difference in rates among African-Americans, A/PIs, or AI/ANs. These data indicate California’s advantage in smoking prevalence is not uniformly shared in all racial and ethnic groups. Another potential concern is that from 1997-2000, smoking prevalence for A/PIs in California increased from 9.3% to 12.8%, while U.S. rates for this group declined from 14.4% to 13.6%. Possible reasons for these differences and implications for future tobacco control efforts will be explored.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Tobacco,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.