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Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and Tobacco
Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders are persons of Asian or Pacific Islander ancestry whose
origins are from China and Mongolia to the north, Indonesia to the south,
the Indian subcontinent to the west, and the U.S.-related Pacific Islands
to the east.1 The six largest subgroups of Asian Americans are
from China, the Philippines, Japan, Asian India, Korea, and Vietnam.
Hawaiians, Samoans, and Guamanians are the three largest Pacific Islander
subgroups. Although Asian Americans reside across the country,
approximately 66% live in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, and
Texas. Approximately 75% of the Pacific Islanders population live in just
two states – California and Hawaii. Asian American population nearly
doubled in size from an estimated 3.5 million in 1980 to almost 7 million
in 1990, while Pacific Islanders population grew by 41% between 1980
(259,566) and 1990 (365,024).2
Health Effects
- Smoking is
responsible for 87% of the lung cancer deaths in the United States. In
1993, lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death (22.3%) among
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.3
- The death rate for
lung cancer was 27.9 per 100,000 for Asian American and Pacific
Islander men and 11.4 per 100,000 for women. Among subgroups, both
Hawaiian men (88.9 per 100,000) and women (44.1 per 100,000) had the
highest rate of lung cancer deaths, and Filipino men (29.8 per
100,000) and women (10.0 per 100,000) had the lowest.3
- Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders had the lowest rates of death from coronary heart
disease among the primary racial/ethnic groups in the United States.
Among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders subgroups, Koreans (82 per
100,000) had the lowest death rates for cardiovascular diseases and
Japanese (162 per 100,000) had the highest rate.3
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Cigarette Smoking
Prevalence
- The 1997 National
Health Interview Survey data show that overall adult smoking
prevalence was lower among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
(16.9%) than among Hispanics (20.4%), whites (25.3%), African
Americans (26.7%), and American Indians and Alaska Natives (34.1%).4
- In 1997, 21.6% of
Asian American and Pacific Islander men smoked, compared with 27.4% of
white men. However, Asian American and Pacific Islander women (12.4%)
were significantly
less
likely to smoke than white women (23.3%).4
Smoking rates are much higher among Asian American and Pacific
Islander men than among Asian American and Pacific Islander women,
regardless of country of origin.3
- A 1990–1991
California
survey estimated that smoking rates for men were 35.8% for Korean
Americans, 24% for Filipino Americans, 20.1% for Japanese Americans,
and 19.1% for Chinese Americans. Among women, smoking prevalence was
14.9% for Japanese Americans, 13.6% for Korean Americans, 8.9% for
Filipino Americans, and 4.7% for Chinese Americans.3
- Among high school
seniors, aggregated 1990–1994 Monitoring the Future Survey data show
that for racial/ethnic groups, smoking prevalence was highest among
American Indians and Alaska Natives (males, 41.1 percent; females,
39.4 percent) followed by whites (males, 33.4%; females, 33.1%),
Hispanics (males, 28.5%; females, 19.2%), Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders (males, 20.6%; females, 13.8%), and African Americans
(males, 11.6%; females, 8.6%).3
- Among Asian American
and Pacific Islander high school seniors 4.4% of male students and 4.5% of
females students reported smoking one-half pack or more per day.3
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Cigarette Smoking
Behavior
- Research shows an
association between cigarette smoking and acculturation among Asian
American and Pacific Islander adults from Southeast Asia. Those who
had a higher English-language proficiency and those living in the
United States longer were less likely to be smokers.3
- Among Chinese men,
the average number of cigarettes smoked per day increased with the
percentage of their lifetime spent in the United States.3
- Among Vietnamese,
the prevalence of smoking was higher among men who immigrated to the
United States in 1981 or later and who were not fluent in English.3
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Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders and Quitting
- Among current
smokers, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were slightly more
likely than white smokers to have quit for at least one day during the
previous year (32.0%, compared with 26.0%). Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders (2.5%), however, are less likely than whites (3.4%)
to remain abstinent for one to 90 days.3
- According to
aggregated 1994–1995 National Health Interview Survey data, the
prevalence of cessation among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
aged 55 years and older was higher than among younger Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders.3
- A community
intervention trial for Vietnamese men conducted in San Francisco
significantly increased the likelihood of quitting smoking. This
program included a long-running anti-tobacco media campaign and
school- and family-based components.3
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Tobacco Industry
- Studies have found a
higher density of tobacco billboards in racial/ethnic minority
communities. For example, a 1993 study in San Diego, California, found
the highest proportion of tobacco billboards were posted in Asian
American communities and the lowest proportion were in white
communities.
3
- Among racial/ethnic
minority communities in San Diego, the highest average number of
tobacco displays was found in Asian American stores (6.4), compared
with Hispanic (4.6) and African American (3.7) stores.3
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References
- Chen MS, Jr.
cancer prevention and control among Asian and Pacific Islander
Americans: findings and recommendations. Cancer 1998 (in press).
- United States
Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Economic and Statistics
Administration. We the Americans: Asians and Pacific Islanders. http://www.census.gov/apsd/www/wepeople.html,
September 1993.
- U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic
Minority Groups—African Americans, American Indians and Alaska
Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics: A Report
of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998.
- Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. cigarette smoking among adults–United
States, 1997." MMWR 1999; 48: 993-6.
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