Using a community participatory approach to measure environmental influences of tobacco use on AAPI youth and impact policy

According to recent studies, tobacco use among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth has been growing, but still little is known about initiation of tobacco and patterns of use among youth from specific AAPI subgroups. The goals of this project were to study the environmental factors associated with tobacco initiation among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth (age 13-18) in four communities of California and Washington: Cambodians in Long Beach, Chamorros in Long Beach, Laotians in Richmond, and multi-AAPI in Seattle. This study involved a community participatory action research approach to studying tobacco use among AAPI youth. Methods included GIS (geographic systems information) mapping of pro- and anti-tobacco influences in all four communities, photographing and interpreting visual images of these influences (called “Photovoice”), and administering a survey to youth in one community (for Cambodians only). GIS mapping and Photovoice methodologies exposed the overwhelmingly pro-tobacco influences in these AAPI communities, particularly when compared with selected non-AAPI areas. Not surprisingly, Cambodian youth were also found to be at high risk for smoking: 48.8% of boys and 33.9% of girls smoked at least one cigarette in the past 30 days, and 27.3% of boys and 14.9% of girls had even bought a pack of cigarettes during the same time period. These results have helped youth and community members successfully advocate for policy change in establishing tobacco retailer licensing laws in their communities.