Research

The smoking scourge among urban blacks
Recent studies have reported young, poor, inner-city Blacks’ smoking rate at over 50%, dramatically higher than the smoking rate for the rest of the country. Certain trends among urban Blacks such as selling cigarettes individually (termed “loosies”), and the high popularity of menthol cigarettes and cigarillos are of interest. Although smoking rates are decreasing in most other segments of society, this group’s smoking has not been addressed, possibly because of more serious urban problems such as drugs and crime. Click here to read more.

Studies show smoking harms women more than men
A Chinese study compared COPD in women and men who were nonsmokers, ex-smokers, and current smokers.  Smoking and COPD were related.  Those with COPD were 40% more likely to be smokers, and more frequent smoking was associated with more risk of COPD.  Among smokers who smoked the same amount, women were 20% more likely than men to develop COPD.  Read a summary of the article here. Click here for the abstract.

Conceptual and methodological issues for research on tobacco-related health disparities
The Tobacco Research Network on Disparities (TReND) has published a supplemental journal issue in Addiction with several multidisciplinary research papers on health disparities relating to tobacco use. The articles describe key issues for health professionals and policy makers, and bring new insight on previous assumptions about tobacco-related disparities. Read more on the TReND website. The journal articles are available online here.

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