Cigarette smoking among low-income African Americans: a serious public health problem

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Accepted manuscript
Date
2005-10-01
Authors
Delva, Jorge
Tellez, M.
Finlayson, T.L.
Gretebeck, K.A.
Siefert, K.
Williams, D.R.
Ismail, A.I.
Version
OA Version
Citation
J Delva, M Tellez, TL Finlayson, KA Gretebeck, K Siefert, DR Williams, AI Ismail. 2005. "Cigarette smoking among low-income African Americans: A serious public health problem." AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE, v. 29, Issue 3, pp. 218 - 220 (3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2005.05.004
Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study examines the current prevalence of cigarette smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked in a community-based sample of 1021 low-income African-American men and women. METHODS: Participants were selected using a two-stage, area probability sample design. Data were collected in 2002-2003 in face-to-face interviews and analyzed in 2005. All data and analyses were weighted to account for the complex sampling design. RESULTS: Fifty-nine percent of men and 41% of women were current smokers, with younger individuals apparently initiating smoking at an earlier age than older individuals. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of cigarette use provides further evidence that the excess burden of tobacco-related disease among low-income African-American families may be on the rise. This is of great concern, and if confirmed by further research, indicates an urgent need for preventive intervention.
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International