Regional differences in current smoking among African-American men

Background: Lung cancer incidence and death rates vary among African-American men. African-American men in the Midwest have the highest lung cancer incidence and death rates compared to African-American men in other regions of the United States.

Objective: To examine current smoking status among African-American men in four regions of the United States: Northeast, Midwest, South, and West.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 2001-2002 and 2003 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Surveys were analyzed in SUDAAN to generate weighted estimates of current smoking status for four regions of the U.S by income and occupation among African-American men ages 18 and over (n=12,549).

Results: Current smoking was highest among African-American men living in the Midwest (28%). Current smoking for other regions of the U.S. was as follows: Northeast (22%), South (23%) and West (22%). Within the Midwest region, current smoking was highest among African-American men with annual family incomes <$5,000 (38%) and those working in service (32%) and blue collar (32%) occupations. Among Midwestern men with family incomes <$5,000, thirty-one percent reported “every day” smoking. Also, more African-American men in the Midwest reported not having a complete smoking ban at work (37%) compared to those in the other three regions. Results from logistic regression will be presented.

Conclusion: Interventions to help African-American men quit smoking may need to be targeted to regional differences in current smoking, socioeconomics, occupation, and smoking ban policies at work.