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Awareness and Use of South Asian Tobacco Products Among South Asians in New Jersey

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Abstract

South Asians are the third largest Asian group in the US and among the fastest growing racial groups in New Jersey. Tobacco consumption among South Asians is characterized by several smoked and smokeless tobacco products indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. However, there is a paucity of research on tobacco use behaviors among South Asians in the US. The goal of this study was to examine the awareness and use of South Asian tobacco products such as bidis, gutkha, paan, paan masala, and zarda as well as other potentially carcinogenic products such as supari, their context of use, and their cultural significance among South Asians living in the US. Eight focus groups were conducted with South Asian adults living in Central New Jersey. Overall, participants were aware of a wide variety of foreign and American tobacco products with older South Asians identifying a greater variety of indigenous products compared to younger South Asians. Hookah was consistently recognized as popular among the younger generation while products such as paan or paan masala were more commonly identified with elders. Use of tobacco-related products such as paan and supari were described as common at social gatherings or after meals. In addition, light or social users of South Asian tobacco products, including products not consistently defined as tobacco, may not report tobacco use on a survey. Better understanding of the use of these products among South Asians and how some may classify tobacco usage can inform future research and public health interventions in these communities.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of John Capasso, Michelle Bover Manderski, Rajiv Ulpe, and Mia Hanos Zimmermann during the course of this study.

Funding

This study was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute and the Food and Drug Administration (R21CA164913). The work and conclusions of the paper are solely those of the authors and not the NCI or FDA.

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Correspondence to Mary Hrywna.

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Conflict of interest

Dr. Steinberg received a $500 consulting fee from Arena Pharmaceuticals in March 2015 and is an ongoing consultant to Major League Baseball regarding tobacco treatment. There are no other conflicts of interest to declare.

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Hrywna, M., Jane Lewis, M., Mukherjea, A. et al. Awareness and Use of South Asian Tobacco Products Among South Asians in New Jersey. J Community Health 41, 1122–1129 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0208-4

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