Highlights: African Americans and Tobacco

Health Effects

• Stroke is associated with cerebrovascular disease and is a major cause of death in the United States. Smoking significantly elevates the risk for stroke. Cerebrovascular disease is twice as high among African-American men (53.1 per 100,000) as among white men (26.3 per 100,000) and twice as high among African-American women (40.6 per 100,000) as among white women (22.6 per 100,000).

Cigarette Smoking Behavior

• Approximately three of every four African-American smokers prefer menthol cigarettes. Among whites, approximately a quarter of smokers prefer menthol cigarettes. Menthol may facilitate absorption of harmful cigarette smoke constituents.
• Among adult African-American smokers, the most popular brands are Newport, Kool, and Salem. Similar brand preference was found among African-American teens with 61.3% preferring Newport, 10.9% preferringg Kool, and 9.7% preferring Salem.

Prevalence of Other Forms of Tobacco Use

• Aggregated National Health Interview Survey data from 1987 and 1991 show that more white men (4.8%) smoked cigars than did African-American men (3.9%).
• African-American men (3.1%) use chewing tobacco or snuff less than white men (6.8%).

African Americans and Quitting

• Of current African-American adult smokers, more than 70% indicated that they want to quit smoking completely. African-American smokers are more likely than white smokers to have quit for at least one day during the previous year (29.7% compared with 26.0%).
• Prevalence of cessation (the percentage of persons who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes and quit) is higher among whites (50.5%) than among African Americans (35.4%).

Tobacco Industry Economic Influence

• A one-year study found that three major African-American publications—Ebony, Jet, and Essence—received proportionately higher profits from cigarette advertisements than did other magazines.
• The tobacco industry attempts to maintain a positive image and public support among African Americans by supporting cultural events and making contributions to minority higher education institutions, elected officials, civic and community organizations, and scholarship programs.