Disparities
Research
Release of special issue on tobacco control policies
and low SES women and girls
Aspecial issue of the Journal of Epidemiology
& Community Health, Tobacco Control Policies
and Low Socioeconomic Status Women and Girls, has been
released. The papers included in this issue examine the
effectiveness of tobacco control policies in reducing the
harm caused by tobacco use and exposure among low socioeconomic
status (SES) women and girls. The Low Socioeconomic
Status Women and Girls Project of the Tobacco Research Network
on Disparities (TReND) held a meeting, Tobacco Control
Policies: Do They Make a Difference for Low SES Women and
Girls? September 22–23, 2005.The special journal
issueis a product of that meeting, and the results from
the papers clearly indicate that some policies have modest
effects while others have no effect on smoking behavior
or secondhand smoke exposure among low SES women and girls.
Additional measures needed to reduce SHS exposure among
at-risk groups
An article in the June 2006 issue of Environmental
Health Perspectives shows that although antismoking
campaigns have greatly reduced exposure to secondhand smoke,
additional measures are still needed to protect at-risk
groups such as children and African Americans. View
the abstract for more
information.
Smoking accounts for health gap between men in
different social classes
A team of researchers in England, Wales, the U.S., Canada
and Poland have found that smoking accounts for 50% of the
difference in death rates between men in the top and bottom
social classes. Click here to learn more.
African Americans try to quit smoking cold turkey, resulting
in low success rates
As part of its "Stomp Out Smoking in the African-American
Community" campaign, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
released the findings of a commissioned survey about smoking
habits of African Americans at this year's National Association
of Black Journalists (NABJ) Convention. The results from
the survey paint a picture of the long-held beliefs and
contradicting opinions many African Americans have about
their smoking habits. It also highlights some plausible
reasons why more African-Americans have not been successful
at quitting. For example, 56 percent of those interviewed
believe cold turkey is the most effective way to quit smoking,
but approximately eight out of 10 of the respondents shared
that they were unsuccessful quitting. This statistic highlights
a knowledge gap in terms of the effectiveness of the "cold
turkey" method versus using nicotine replacement therapy.
View the rest of the
press release for more information.
Predictors of tobacco use among low-income African Americans
An article in the July 2006 issue of Addictive Behaviors
examines the prevalence and predictors of tobacco use among
low-income African Americans in the South. Results show
that low-income populations in the South have high rates
of smoking in general, and that tobacco users were more
likely to be older, have been exposed to secondhand smoke,
have positive attitudes toward tobacco commercials, and
have been arrested in the past. Results found several predictors
of tobacco use in the study population including age, secondhand
smoke, attitude toward tobacco media, and criminal activity.
View the
abstract for more information.
Smoking causes bladder and lung cancer more frequently
in women
A study conducted by the University of Southern California
found that women's bladders are more susceptible to
the cancer-causing agents in tobacco. In addition,
a study conducted by Cornell University found that women
are twice as likely to develop lung cancer as men, although
they are more likely to survive the disease. Click
here for
additional information on the bladder cancer study, and
here to learn more about the
lung cancer study.
Smoking among women increasing across the globe
A report released by the International Network of Women
Against Tobacco claims that an apparent increase in smoking
rates among women worldwide is a result of industry tactics
formerly used in the U.S. to alter cultural beliefs surrounding
the acceptability of smoking by women. Click
here to learn more.
Young women's perceptions of smoking across life
transitions
A study published in the June 2006 issue of Health Education
Research examines the social role that smoking plays
in young women's lives as they transition through various
life changes, and the opportunities for targeted interventions
such changes present. View the abstract for
more information.
Role of traumatic life experiences in women's smoking
status
A study of female Israeli college students examined
the role of traumatic life experiences and smoking initiation.
View the abstract for additional
information.
Tobacco control policy advocacy attitudes and self-efficacy
among ethnically diverse high school students
A survey of high school students in Texas found that those
who feel that they can be effective anti-smoking spokespeople
in their communities are less likely to be smokers themselves.
Among those surveyed, black students were most likely to
believe they could be effective advocates for policies such
as clean air laws, tobacco taxes and bans on tobacco advertising.
The study can be found in the August issue of the journal
Health Education and Behavior. Click here for additional information.
Smoking restrictions less common in rural areas
A study in the June 2006 issue of Nicotine and Tobacco
Research found that the prevalence of smoking is greater
and smoking restrictions are less common in rural areas.
The study also identified correlates of home smoking restrictions
among rural smokers. View the
abstract for more information.
Neighborhood and individual socioeconomic inequalities in
smoking
An article in the August 2006 issue of the Journal
of Epidemiology and Community Health demonstrates that
physical neighborhood stressors are related to smoking and
contribute substantially to neighborhood inequalities in
smoking over and above individual level characteristics.
Neighborhood stressors contributed 10% to the increased
probability of smoking in the lowest educated persons.View
the abstract for additional
information.
Smoking initiation among Asian American subgroups
An article in the August 2006 issue of the Journal
of Adolescent Health examines differences in smoking
prevalence and in associations between family functioning,
self-image and adolescent smoking behavior among four Asian-American
subgroups. Korean-American adolescents reported the highest
lifetime smoking and 30-day smoking rates, followed by Vietnamese-
and Filipino-Americans. Chinese-Americans reported the lowest
smoking rates. There were also differences in the associations
between smoking and family functioning and self-image across
the four subgroups. View the
abstract for additional information.
Sociocultural determinants of tobacco use among Cambodian
Americans
An article in the June 2006 issue of Health Education
Research shows factors associated with tobacco-use behaviors
among Cambodian Americans include peer group influences,
smoking adopted as a coping method, tobacco used for medicinal
purposes and smoking practiced within cultural traditions.
View the abstract to
learn more.
Cumulative overexposure to tobacco smoke among Asian
Americans
An article in the June 2006 issue of Preventive Medicine
assessed cumulative tobacco smoke overexposure (smoke overload)
and cancer mortality associations across states, ethnicities,
years, and genders among Asian-Americans and Pacific Islander-Americans.
Click
here to view the entire article.
Use of pharmaceutical aids by Latino smokers
An article in the August 2006 issue of the American
Journal of Preventive Medicine explored sociocultural
and psychosocial factors related to nonuse of smoking-cessation
medications among Latino smokers. Six thematic categories
emerged across most or all discussion groups: (1) smoking
is a weakness rather than an illness, (2) pharmaceuticals
are generally avoided, (3) NRT is mistrusted, (4) bupropion
is widely rejected, (5) views are mixed regarding ethnic
dimensions of smoking and quitting, and (6) misconceptions
are common regarding smoking and cessation. These
results suggest that cognitive reframing strategies would
be useful for this population. View the
abstract for more information.
Tobacco counter-ads aimed at bicultural Mexican American
youth
An article in the July-August 2006 issue of the Journal
of Health Communication examines the effectiveness of
language and theme in print tobacco counter-advertisements
among Mexican American middle school students. Results
showed that although a large percentage identified with
the Mexican American rather than the Anglo American culture
and spoke Spanish in selected contexts, readability was
greater for ads in English, and participants rated the English
ads as most effective. The social norms counteradvertisement
was preferred overall. View the
abstract for additional information.
Elevated risk for tobacco use among gay men
An article in the August 2006 issue of Substance
Use & Misuse compares cigarette use among heterosexual
men and men who have sex with men (MSM). The researchers
found that significantly more MSM used tobacco, particularly
younger MSM. Depression symptoms, alcohol use, and limited
health access were more common among MSM and partially accounted
for their elevated smoking risk. View the
abstract for more information.
Stress and targeting by tobacco industry result in high
smoking rates among LGBT community
The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that stress
and targeted advertising by the tobacco industry contribute
to higher rates of smoking among gay Americans. Factors
reported by gay Americans as contributing to their smoking
behavior include the stress of coming out or staying closeted,
involvement in the club and bar scene, relationship problems,
lack of family connections, and the reinforcement of high
rates of alcohol and drug abuse in the gay community.
Click
here to learn more.
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States
Virginia
Virginia HBCU Alliance holds summit to prevent youth
smoking
The Virginia HBCU Alliance for Tobacco Policy &
Advocacy, supported by a grant from the Virginia Department
of Health, recently held a summit at Hampton University
to discourage children from taking up smoking. The alliance
is aimed at eliminating tobacco use at the state's historically
black colleges and universities. Anti-tobacco activist
and hip-hop artist Mike-E joined the summit to speak with
the children about the insidious nature of tobacco industry
marketing to African American youth. Click
here to learn more about the summit.
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