Review of smoking cessation research among Asian Americans: the state of the research

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide an analytic review of population-based efforts to measure smoking prevalence levels among Asian Americans, and peer-reviewed smoking cessation research targeting Asian Americans. The heterogeneity of Asian Americans has hindered precise determinations of their smoking prevalence and has contributed to the difficulty of implementing standardized smoking cessation interventions. First, we reviewed abstracts of published articles accessible through PUBMED between 1995 and 2005 as well as other reports accessible to the authors to ascertain tobacco control interventions focusing on any Asian American population and the available data sources of Asian Americans' tobacco use. Only two clusters of controlled studies and one uncontrolled smoking cessation intervention study focused on Asian Americans have been published in the peer-reviewed literature. These studies had various degrees of success in cessation. Second, we compiled a list of data sources that contain tobacco use information for Asian Americans in California. These sources could potentially be used to shed light on the strategies of cessation intervention for this group. Community-based trial on tobacco cessation is lacking for Asian Americans even though some of the subgroups bear the heavy burden of smoking. Various survey data that have Asian American tobacco use information should be thoroughly analyzed and the results appropriately interpreted as the basis of intervention for this community. We concluded with three specific recommendations for further research on smoking cessation intervention research focused on Asian Americans.