Racial/ethnic differences among youths in cigarette smoking and susceptibility to start smoking--United States, 2002-2004

Abstract

Limited information on cigarette smoking in racial/ethnic subpopulations hinders development and implementation of targeted interventions for smoking prevention and cessation. Because of small sample sizes or inadequate study formats, cigarette smoking among youths has been studied mostly in major racial/ethnic populations (e.g., Asian or Hispanic) instead of subsets of these populations (e.g., Vietnamese or Cuban). Data on major population categories might mask differences in tobacco-use prevalence among subpopulations. To assess the prevalence of cigarette smoking among youths aged 12-17 years in six major racial/ethnic populations and nine Asian or Hispanic subpopulations in the United States, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and CDC analyzed self-reported data collected during 2002-2004 from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that the estimated prevalence of cigarette smoking in this age group ranged from 23.1% for American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) to 2.2% for Vietnamese. Implementing tobacco-control programs that include culturally appropriate interventions might help reduce cigarette smoking in racial/ethnic subpopulations.