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Racial/Ethnic and Nativity Patterns of U.S. Adolescent and Young Adult Smoking

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Abstract

We document racial/ethnic and nativity differences in U.S. smoking patterns among adolescents and young adults using the 2006 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (n = 44,202). Stratifying the sample by nativity status within five racial/ethnic groups (Asian American, Mexican–American, other Hispanic, non-Hispanic black, and non-Hispanic white), and further by sex and age, we compare self-reports of lifetime smoking across groups. U.S.-born non-Hispanic whites, particularly men, report smoking more than individuals in other racial/ethnic/nativity groups. Some groups of young women (e.g., foreign-born and U.S.-born Asian Americans, foreign-born and U.S.-born Mexican–Americans, and foreign-born blacks) report extremely low levels of smoking. Foreign-born females in all of the 25–34 year old racial/ethnic groups exhibit greater proportions of never smoking than their U.S.-born counterparts. Heavy/moderate and light/intermittent smoking is generally higher in the older age group among U.S.-born males and females, whereas smoking among the foreign-born of both sexes is low at younger ages and remains low at older ages. Taken together, these findings highlight the importance of considering both race/ethnicity and nativity in assessments of smoking patterns and in strategies to reduce overall U.S. smoking prevalence and smoking-attributable health disparities.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Legacy Foundation for its financial support; Jessica Rath, Andrea Villanti, and Mark Hayward for their valuable input on this topic; and the reviewers and editors of PRPR for their thoughtful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Rice University, 6100 S. Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005, USA

    Becky Wade

  2. Population Research Center and Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, 305 E. 23rd St, G1800, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Joseph T. Lariscy & Robert A. Hummer

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  1. Becky Wade
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  2. Joseph T. Lariscy
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Correspondence to Becky Wade.

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Wade, B., Lariscy, J.T. & Hummer, R.A. Racial/Ethnic and Nativity Patterns of U.S. Adolescent and Young Adult Smoking. Popul Res Policy Rev 32, 353–371 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-013-9275-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-013-9275-8

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