Tobacco use disparities in Asian-American communities: Implications of culturally appropriate and traditional interventions


Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

3328.0: Monday, December 12, 2005 - Board 4

Abstract #118516

Surendra Bir Adhikari, PhD, Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation, 300 E Broad St., Suite 310, Columbus, OH 43215, 614-644-1114, sadhikari@standohio.org

There are community misconceptions of smoking as socially appropriate in many of the Asian communities, one reason why smoking and drinking is still a symbol of hospitality in many of the social events and cultural events. Tobacco control efforts encounter various challenges due to age-wise, gender-wise and ethnic community-wise tobacco use disparities; and are met with low English proficiency among adults from particular communities. These all call for unique program interventions that are culturally relevant and transcend the cultural and linguistic barriers. Lacking adequate baseline data, realistic assessment of the tobacco control needs of various ethnic communities is problematic. In opposition to the “model minority” myth, new survey results in Ohio show high smoking prevalence rates among Cambodian (40%), Laotian (32%), Hmong (29%), and Korean (23%) youth respondents. This presentation highlights some of the critical tobacco control disparities and share programmatic outcomes from two grants funded by the Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation that target Asian populations in five major cities of Ohio. Importantly it provides opportunity to participants to learn some of the non-traditional (such as health fairs, fashion shows and custom parades wrapped around tobacco prevention themes) but culturally and linguistically competent (translation of information in key Asian languages) approaches to address tobacco control in Asian communities. One of the critical challenges has been to develop Asian communities' capacities to resist tobacco industry sponsorship of their cultural events as well as to safeguard them from aggressive ethnically targeted marketing and advertising by these scrupulous tobacco industries.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participants would be able to

1). Recognize the high social acceptability of tobacco use in Asian American communities; and to dispel the myth surrounding the Asian “model minority” myth.
2). Assess the barriers to effective tobacco control in Asian American communities, such as aggressive and ethnically targeted “Big Tobacco” advertising.
3). Articulate some of the critical strategies to tobacco control in Asian American communities, such as the unique combination of culturally appropriate and non-traditional interventions.
4). Get an enhanced understanding of current baseline data on tobacco use prevalence and identify a few important strategies to build capacities of Asian American communities to resist aggressive ad campaigns and funding from tobacco industries

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commertial supporters WITH THE EXCEPTION OF Grants funded by the Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation.

Tobacco Control Issues in Special Populations Poster Session

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA