Abstract
Objectives
To assess the smoking status and support for tobacco control policies among the Roma minority compared with the non-Roma population in Hungary.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey was delivered among Roma minority and local non-Roma population; 83 Roma and 126 non-Roma people were interviewed. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were applied to compare Roma and non-Roma populations.
Results
The prevalence of smoking was significantly higher and the support for tobacco control measures was significantly lower in the Roma population. This effect of ethnicity on attitudes toward tobacco control was explained somewhat, but not completely, by the Roma group’s higher rate of smoking and lower level of education.
Conclusions
Tobacco control policies are a proven strategy for denormalizing smoking and discouraging initiation. This strategy has important potential for Roma communities because of their high rates of tobacco use. However, this study shows that the Roma are resistant the efforts to limit smoking. Changing these attitudes will require targeted public health interventions that take into account not only the lower educational levels of the Roma, but also their cultural beliefs regarding tobacco.
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Acknowledgments
The contribution of field workers and other study personnel is gratefully acknowledged. This publication was made possible by Grant Number 1 R01 TW007927-01 from the Fogarty International Center, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institutes on Drug Abuse, within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the NIH.
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The authors declare that they have no competing interest.
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This paper belongs to the special issue “Migrants and ethnic minorities in Europe: new challenges for public health research and practice”.
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Paulik, E., Nagymajtényi, L., Easterling, D. et al. Smoking behaviour and attitudes of Hungarian Roma and non-Roma population towards tobacco control policies. Int J Public Health 56, 485–491 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0252-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0252-x