" White adolescents still smoke cigarettes at twice the rate of African Americans, but the gap is narrowing, signaling the end of low smoking rates among African-American youth that had been considered a public health success story"

Background (continued)

Cigarette and marijuana use among adolescents of all racial/ethnic groups has risen sharply in recent years. Young people from families with lower socioeconomic status, including adolescents living in single-parent homes, face increased risk of initiating smoking (2). American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents smoke at higher rates than other teens. White adolescents still smoke cigarettes at twice the rate of African Americans, but the gap is narrowing, signaling the end of low smoking rates among African-American youth that had been considered a public health success story (3). Table 3 shows 1994–1995 prevalence for smoking data by age, including high school seniors, race/ethnicity, and gender.

The first report on national estimates of tobacco and other drug use was released in July 1998 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “Prevalence of Substance Abuse Among Racial and Ethnic Subgroups in the United States” is based on the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Table 4 shows the findings on cigarette use in the past year among children over 12 during the data period 1991–1993. Note that these population categories differ from those in previous tables. The ranking of these population groups with respect to past-month, heavy cigarette smoking is similar.

The implications from the above data together with the following information signify the need to develop effective tobacco control and prevention programs as soon as possible: Messages about tobacco use designed by and for White audiences have not been effective among minority groups; people who begin smoking before they are 18 years old have a more difficult time quitting than people who begin smoking as adults; and the tobacco industry spends $14 million a day in advertising designed to encourage young people to become new customers. Clearly, there is a serious need to prevent as many minority youth as possible from using tobacco; otherwise, the United States will have a significant public health problem for nearly half its population by 2050.

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