National

Minority groups join forces to fight tobacco industry
In late June, advocates for communities of color and the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender (LGBT) communities filed an amicus brief to urge the court in the Department of Justice lawsuit to hold the tobacco industry accountable for the disproportionate damage it has caused minorities. The brief was coordinated through the Center on Race, Healthcare and the Law at the University of Dayton Law School. The other parties involved were the National Tribal Tobacco Prevention Network, the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment and Leadership, The Praxis Project/PATH, the National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention, and the National Coalition for LGBT Health. This is the first time such groups have acted together to address the disproportionate impact tobacco and smoking has on minority groups.
 
The groups involved in the filing were challenging the tobacco industry’s track record of targeting racial, ethnic and sexual minorities and working to guarantee that money is there to help address some of the damages these communities have suffered. In late July, Judge Gladys Kessler denied their request to include the amicus brief as a part of the remedy phase of the case. Judge Kessler has not yet filed an opinion with respect to her decision. The team continues to work with intervenors in the case to get as many of the remedies as possible incorporated into remaining discussions. This includes pushing for the disclosure of tobacco documents relative to marketing practices in these communities, funding for research on multiple aspects of tobacco use and cessation, and funding for public education and countermarketing initiatives to run through the American Legacy Foundation.

Legacy Foundation Grants awarded
The American Legacy Foundation has announced the recipients of their Small Innovative Grants program. Ten awards were given to fund projects targeting high risk communities. Click to view a list of the programs that will be receiving the Legacy Foundation Grant.

RJR - KOOL launches new campaign targeting African Americans
The RJ Reynolds tobacco company began its New Jazz Philosophy Tour this summer, with three different types of hip Jazz concerts playing in 13 U.S. cities. The tour hits most cities twice, once in the summer and once in the fall. The music tour features well-known black artists including Floetry, John Legend, Common, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, and Miri Ben-Ar. Going to the Kool’s tour website requires signing up for coupons and giveaways from RJR-Kool. Click for more information on the tour and its venues.

Marketing disease to Latinos
The National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention (LCAT) is undertaking a new civil rights campaign to redress aggressive, discriminatory alcohol and tobacco advertising targeting the Latino community. Alcohol and tobacco abuse cause serious health damage in this community, resulting in millions of cases of preventable disease and social conflict. Underage smoking and drinking is illegal. Alcohol and tobacco companies have been enjoined from using ads directed at youth. Despite this, these companies are targeting Latino youth and exploiting the community with tactics that are legally prohibited and generally not used in “mainstream” advertising. Click to view a complete article in Spanish or English.

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Wisconsin program helps Hmong community members quit
Hmong Against Big Industry Tobacco (HABIT) is credited with helping nearly 100 smokers from the Hmong community in western Wisconsin quit or reduce their smoking. The smoking rate among Hmong adults in the La Crosse County area decreased from 17% to 9% over the first 18 months of the program. The HABIT program, funded by the American Legacy Foundation, provides nicotine patches, support groups and counseling from the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line to smokers who want to quit. Quit Line services are available to Wisconsin residents in both English and Hmong. Click for additional information.

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Acculturation affects smoking status among Hispanic Americans
Reviewing 11 studies including a total of over 25,000 participants, researchers found that smoking status is related to level of acculturation for Hispanic Americans. Among the reviewed studies, smoking rates were 11% for Hispanics in their Spanish-speaking countries while the rates were 25% for Hispanic U.S. immigrants. The study also noted that acculturation has a more dramatic effect on Hispanic women than men. Researchers suggest that the level of independence which accompanies the American culture is a bigger change for women than men, and women assert their independence by smoking. Click for more information on the study.

Canadian researchers examine effects of acculturation and peer influences on tobacco use among European and Asian youth
A survey of 3,400 high school students in Toronto indicates that smoking rates vary among adolescents of differing ethnic identities. Results were published in the online version of Addiction (July, 2005). The study notes that adolescents of western European, eastern European and southern European ethnicity were considerably more likely to be smokers, while Chinese, South Asian and East Indian and West Indian youth were less likely to smoke. The discrepancies in smoking among western European and South Asian and East Indian adolescents were explained by a combination of peer and sibling smoking and acculturation. Click to view the entire article.

Study examines cancer deaths linked to tobacco among African-American
A recent study published in the August issue of Preventive Medicine has determined that 63% of cancer deaths in African American men are linked to tobacco. The rates vary across the nation, with the southern states having the highest rates (67%) and the northeast having the lowest (43%). The association with tobacco is most likely related to more stringent tobacco control in the northeast and the west. Click for more information.

Black college students have lower smoking rates
A study at North Carolina Central University reports that fewer black college students are smoking than white college students. National data shows that between 27% and 34% of all college students smoke, while only 13% of black college students smoke. The study also indicated that black students who smoked reported smoking for the sensation rather than for social reasons. Click to view these preliminary results.

Tobacco advertising more prevalent in low socioeconomic communities
A recent edition of Preventive Medicine (Volume 40, Issue 1 , January 2005, Pages 16-22) contained a study of the tobacco advertising in six Boston communities. The study aimed to compare sign and print ads in communities with high socioeconomic statuses and ones with low SES. Researchers found significantly higher sign-advertisements as well as print ads in lower income areas. In addition, a doubling of the percent of community residents of color was associated with a doubling of the number of brand advertisements relative to smoke-free signs. In all communities, tobacco advertising was more prevalent than signs for smoke-free establishments. Click to read the full article.

Research on smoking in LGBT community launched
Howard Brown Health Center is currently investigating the smoking habits of LGBT individuals in Chicago. Along with community leaders, the Center intends to explore differences in habits among LGBT smokers and to investigate other factors, including ethnicity, substance abuse and depression, on smoking on the LGBT community. The LGBT community exhibits high smoking rates, with studies showing LGBT individuals to be 40-70% more likely to smoke than the general population. Click for an article with more detail on the study and facts about smoking in the LGBT community.

Role of menthol in health disparities between White and Black smokers examined
Harvard University researchers have found additional evidence supporting the role of mentholated cigarettes in tobacco-related health disparities among Black and White smokers. A study in the August 2005 issue of Nicotine and Tobacco Research examined the relationships among race, gender, menthol, and tobacco exposure measures, including cotinine (a chemical produced by the body from the nicotine in cigarettes that can be measured in saliva) among a group of 307 Boston-area smokers. More than 70% of Black smokers smoke primarily menthol cigarettes, and although Blacks smoke fewer cigarettes per day than Whites, they suffer from higher rates of tobacco-related diseases and intake more nicotine per cigarette than Whites. The study found that the cotinine intake level for each cigarette varied by race, gender and cigarette type (menthol or non-menthol). Blacks were found to smoke less than Whites, but to have higher salivary cotinine levels overall. This ratio was the highest among Black menthol smokers. Click to view the study abstract.

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