Percentages of African-American high school seniors who smoke remain statistically similar since 1992, according to the a new paper published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research. At the same time, African-American adult smokers are more prone to continue the habit as they get older, in comparison with white smokers.
Researchers have found that 8.7 percent of African-American high school seniors smoked cigarettes in 1992. New statistics from 2014 have shown an increase of 0.3 percent. Nearly 18 of every 100 non-Hispanic Blacks (17.5 percent), smoke cigarettes in the United States, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Numbers demonstrate that the smoking trend has remained stable during the last 22 years among African-American high school seniors. Gary Giovino, a professor at the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, explained that the tobacco industry has made an effort to prevail among this segment.
“That the decline has stalled in the last 22 years is, to me, very sad news. I think it’s about the industry working really hard to keep this market. We always knew that could be an issue, but this is the first time we’ve ever had data on it,” Giovino said.
Results would appear to show that it’s harder for African-American adults to quit smoking, in comparison with white smokers, even when blacks start smoking later, according to a press release published by the University of Buffalo.
Phillip Gardiner of the Tobacco Related Disease Research Program, University of California Office of the President, proposes that the country should duplicate efforts and allocate more resources for prevention and cessation of smoking among the African-American community.
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SOURCE: Pulse Headlines, University at Buffalo
Camilo Pacheco
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