Disaggregating Asian American Cigarette and Alternative Tobacco Product Use: Results from the Nation
Friday, May 21, 2021
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Rao
M, Bar L, Yu Y, Srinivasan M, Mukherjea A, Li J, Chung S, Venkatraman S, Dan S,
Palaniappan L. Disaggregating Asian American Cigarette
and Alternative Tobacco Product Use: Results from the National Health Interview
Survey (NHIS) 2006-2018.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2021 Apr 28:1–9. doi:
10.1007/s40615-021-01024-5. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33909281; PMCID:
PMC8080866.
Introduction.
Asian Americans suffer high rates of smoking and tobacco-related deaths,
varying by ethnic group. Trends of cigarette and alternative tobacco product
use among Asian Americans, specifically considering ethnic group, sex, and
nativity, are infrequently reported.
Methods.
Using National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 2006-2018 and the
2016-2018 alternative tobacco supplement (e-cigarettes, cigars, smokeless
tobacco, pipes), we explored cigarette and alternative tobacco product use by
Asian ethnic group (Asian Indian (n = 4373), Chinese (n = 4736), Filipino (n =
4912)) in comparison to non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs (n = 275,025)), adjusting for
socioeconomic and demographic factors.
Results.
Among 289,046 adults, 12% of Filipinos were current smokers, twice the
prevalence in Asian Indians and Chinese (p < 0.001). The male-female gender
difference was fivefold for Chinese (10.3% vs. 2.2%; p < 0.001), eightfold
for Asian Indians (8.7% vs. 1.1%; p < 0.001), and twofold for Filipinos
(16.8% vs. 9.0%). Moreover, 16.3% of US-born and 10.3% of foreign-born
Filipinos were current smokers. Odds of ever using e-cigarettes, cigars,
smokeless tobacco, and pipes in comparison to NHWs were lowest for Chinese (ORs
0.6, 0.5, 0.2, and 0.5).
Discussion.
Filipinos had the highest current smoking rates of Asian ethnic groups. Though
more Asian men were current smokers, the high rate of current smoking among
Filipinas is concerning. More US-born Filipinos were current smokers than
foreign-born, despite rates typically decreasing for US-born Asians.
Investigating cultural factors contributing to less frequent use of tobacco
products, such as alternative tobacco products among Chinese, may aid campaigns
in curbing tobacco usage.
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