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Nativity and Cigarette Smoking among Lower Income Blacks: Results from the Healthy Directions Study

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Abstract

Blacks in the United States bear the greatest disease burden associated with cigarette smoking. Previous studies have shown that the rapidly increasing population of foreign-born Blacks has lower smoking rates compared to their native-born counterparts. However, less is known about whether cigarette smoking among Blacks varies by region of birth (US, Africa, or the Caribbean), generational status, or acculturation. We examined the association between nativity and cigarette smoking among 667 Black adult men and women enrolled in the Harvard Cancer Prevention Program project. In multi-variable analyses, US-born Blacks were more likely to be smokers compared to those born in the Caribbean (OR = 0.16, 95% CI 0.08, and 0.34) or in Africa (OR = 0.24, 95% CI 0.08, and 0.74). Language acculturation was positively associated with cigarette smoking (OR = 2.62, 95% CI 1.17, and 5.85). We found that US-born Blacks were more likely to be current cigarette smokers than those born in either Caribbean or African countries. Our findings highlight the importance of intervening early new Black immigrants to stem the uptake of cigarette smoking behaviors as individuals become acculturated.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Jodi Saia-Witte in the preparation of this manuscript. The research was supported by grant no. 5 P01 CA75308 from the National Institutes of Health and support to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute by Liberty Mutual, National Grid, and the Patterson Fellowship Fund. G. G. Bennett is also supported by an award from the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. K. Y. Wolin and C. A. Okechukwu are supported by National Cancer Institute training grants (1 R25 CA100600-01A1 and 5 R25 CA057711-12, respectively).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 44 Binney St., SM256, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Gary G. Bennett, Cassandra A. Okechukwu, Sandy Askew, Glorian Sorensen & Karen M. Emmons

  2. Center for Community-Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA

    Gary G. Bennett, Cassandra A. Okechukwu, Sandy Askew, Glorian Sorensen & Karen M. Emmons

  3. Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Kathleen Y. Wolin

  4. Department of Psychology, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA

    Carlotta M. Arthur

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  1. Gary G. Bennett
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Correspondence to Gary G. Bennett.

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Bennett, G.G., Wolin, K.Y., Okechukwu, C.A. et al. Nativity and Cigarette Smoking among Lower Income Blacks: Results from the Healthy Directions Study. J Immigrant Minority Health 10, 305–311 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-007-9088-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-007-9088-0

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