...in General...
- Smoking is implicated in 30% of all cancer deaths.
- Tobacco use accounts for one in five deaths in the United States.
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 90% of all smokers begin using tobacco before they turn 20. Fifty percent of smokers begin using tobacco by age 14; 25% begin before they are 12.
- 87% of lung cancers in the U.S. are caused by smoking.
- Florida spends $420 million annually to treat Medicaid patients suffering from smoking-related diseases.
- Students who play at least one sport are 40% less likely to use tobacco regularly and 50% less likely to be heavy users than students who do not participate in sports.
...on American Indians and Alaska Natives...
- American-Indian and Alaska-Native adults have the highest prevalence of tobacco use among minority groups—39.2% in 1994–95. Tobacco use among all U.S. adults was 25%.
- Although the percentage of adults who smoke has declined in the U.S. since 1983, only American Indians and Alaska Natives’ tobacco use has remained the same.
- This population group is the only one of the four minority groups to experience an increase in respiratory cancer death rates from 1990 to 1995.
...on African Americans...
- Smoking among African-American teens increased 80% in the ‘90s, more than three times faster than for White teens.
- Smoking among African-American eighth graders increased 106% from 1992 to 1997. • 90% of billboards in African-American communities feature an African-American character.
- 1.6 million African Americans under the age of 18 will become smokers if current trends continue. Approximately 500,000 will die prematurely from smoking-related diseases.
- African-American male smokers suffer from tobacco-related diseases such as coronary heart disease, lung cancer, or stroke more than men or women in any other population group.
- White smokers have a quit rate of 50.7% compared to 35.4% for African Americans.
...on Hispanics...
- Lung cancer deaths are about three times higher for Hispanic men (23.1 per 100,000) than for Hispanic women (7.7 per 100,000).
- Mexican-American Hispanics’ smoking rates increase as they become acculturated to U.S. society.
- Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death among Hispanics living in the U.S.
- The higher his level of education, the less likely an Hispanic man is to smoke.
- Factors associated with smoking among Hispanics include depression, drinking alcohol, poor health, and living and working with smokers.
...on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders...
- Asian-American and Pacific-Islander women have the lowest smoking rates—5.7%—among all U.S. women of reproductive age. They have the lowest rates of death from coronary heart disease among men or women in the four minority groups.
- Asian-American men from Southeastern Asian countries smoke at a much higher rate than others in their minority group (34%).
- Factors associated with smoking among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders include limited English proficiency, recently moving to the U.S., little knowledge of tobacco use effects, and poverty.
Fast Fact Sources: “Health Effects on Minorities,” Youth Media Network; “Minority Smoking Skyrockets During 1990s,” PR Web; “Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups,” Report from the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1988; “Alcohol, Tobacco Campaigns Frequently Aimed at Women, Children and Minorities,” Prevention Newsline, Spring 1992, Indiana Prevention Resource Center; “Reducing the Health Consequences of Smoking: 25 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1989; “Sports Participation, Age at Smoking Initiation and the Risk of Smoking Among U.S. High School Students,” JAMA, March 17, 1993, 269:1391–1395; Florida Governor’s Office, Press Release, April 16, 1996; “Parent Guide to Youth Smoking Prevention Policies and Programs,” ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, 1998.