Racial/Ethnic Differences in Light of 100% Smoke-free State Laws: Evidence from Adults in the United
Friday, August 14, 2020
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Daley A, Rahman M, Watson
B.
Racial/Ethnic
Differences in Light of 100% Smoke-free State Laws: Evidence from Adults in the
United States.
[published online ahead of print, 2020 Jul 7]. Popul Health Manag.
2020;10.1089/pop.2020.0048. doi:10.1089/pop.2020.0048
This study estimates racial/ethnic differences in the association between 100%
smoke-free state laws and smoking, as well as self-reported health, to
facilitate policy aimed at reducing disparities. Data pertain to adults aged 18
years and older, obtained from the public-use Behavioral Risk Factor
Surveillance System (2002-2014). The authors exploit variation in the timing of
100% smoke-free state laws using a difference-in-differences model. Examining
heterogeneity across racial/ethnic minority groups, the authors consider the
association between smoke-free laws and the probability of being: a daily
smoker (versus occasional); an occasional smoker (versus former); and at the
top of the self-reported health scale (versus the bottom). The authors find
that 100% smoke-free state laws were not correlated with smoking among women.
Moreover, racial/ethnic minority men who smoked occasionally were less likely
to quit than white men, and results suggest that smoke-free laws did not reduce
these disparities. However, there is evidence that smoke-free laws reduced the
probability of being a daily smoker for Asian and Hispanic/Latinx men, but not
the probability of quitting or being at the top of the self-reported health
scale. More generally, smoke-free laws were not associated with self-reported
health, except that there may have been an improvement among nonsmoking
American Indian/Alaska Native women. These findings underscore the importance
of looking beyond average effects to consider how 100% smoke-free state laws
impact racial/ethnic minorities. There is evidence that they reduced smoking
and improved self-reported health for some groups, but a suite of tobacco
control policies is necessary to reduce racial/ethnic disparities more broadly.
|
|
Email to a Friend