Differences in smoking duration between Latinos and Anglos

Abstract

A smoker's risk of disease and death from cigarettes is related directly to the duration of smoking. The present study compared duration of smoking between a state-level population of Anglo versus highly acculturated Latino ever-smokers (N = 6,100). Kapla-Meier analysis was used to obtain weighted median smoking duration. Weighted Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the relative likelihood of continued smoking, adjusted for demographics, smoking history, home and workplace smoking restrictions, and socioeconomic covariates (education, health insurance status, and poverty level). On average, Latinos continued smoking longer than Anglos (M = 30 years vs. 27 years; weighted Cox HR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.60-0.89). The disparity remained significant when adjusted for demographic, smoking history, and smoking-rule covariates but was not significant when adjusted for socioeconomic status (HR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.73-1.09). Education alone accounted for the majority of the disparity, more so than poverty or health insurance status. We conclude that highly acculturated Latino smokers may be at greater risk of cigarette disease and death related to longer duration of smoking associated with lower socioeconomic status.