Tobacco.org

Living in U.S. Raises Cancer Risk for Hispanics 

The risk of cancer for Hispanics increases by 40% when they move to the U.S., according to a new study.

The risks of specific cancers, however, differ widely among the Hispanic subgroups of Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexicans, the researchers also found.

On the positive side, U.S. Hispanics generally have lower cancer incidence than non-Hispanic U.S. whites, says Paulo Pinheiro, MD, PhD, a researcher in the department of epidemiology and public health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida, who led the study.

"On the negative side, they increase their risk when they come here for the majority of the analyzed [in his study] cancers," Pinheiro tells WebMD. The study is published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &Prevention. . . .

* Cubans were comparable with whites in cancer rates, including low rates of cervical and stomach cancers. Cuban men were most afflicted by cancer associated with tobacco, such as lung and larynx, bladder, kidney, and pancreas.

Jump to full article »

Moving To The US Increases Cancer Risk For Hispanics 

Results of a new study confirm trends that different Hispanic population groups have higher incidence rates of certain cancers and worse cancer outcomes if they live in the United States, than they do if they live in their homelands.

"Hispanics are not all the same with regard to their cancer experience," said Paulo S. Pinheiro, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc., researcher in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

"Targeted interventions for cancer prevention and control should take into account the specificity of each Hispanic subgroup: Cubans, Puerto Ricans or Mexicans," added Pinheiro, who is the study's lead researcher. Pinheiro received support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.

These results are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. . . .

Cuban males had higher incidence of tobacco-related cancers; . . .

Patients should become better informed of some of the positive aspects of their original lifestyles and should be strongly discouraged from adopting unfavorable lifestyles that may be more common in the United States, such as unhealthy diets, smoking and alcohol use, according to Pinheiro and Ramirez.

Jump to full article »

Smoking, High Blood Pressure And Diabetes In Mid-life Can Lead To Dementia 

Middle aged people who smoke, have high blood pressure or diabetes are far more likely to develop dementia in later life, suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

People should consider modifying their lifestyle in mid-life to avoid developing dementia, claims the US research.

Dementia is a growing public health problem affecting older people in developed countries. In the US, where the research took place, estimates show that one in six people older than 70 have dementia. Estimates are that the number of people with dementia will grow threefold by 2050, compared with 2000.

Previous studies have shown that the presence of cardiovascular risk factors including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and smoking increase the risk of developing subsequent dementia, but have often failed to show the relationship.

Researchers from the universities of Minnesota, North Carolina and John Hopkins and the University of Mississippi Medical Center studied more than 11,000 people aged 46-70 who were participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study in 1990-92.

Jump to full article »

LETTER: Tobacco dependence in light smokers ($$) 

The first 10% of the full text of this article appears below.

I wish to commend Reitzel et al. (2009) for their excellent study concerning low-level smoking among Spanish-speaking Latino smokers but would like to challenge their interpretation of the data. The authors compared low-level smokers (1–5 cigarettes/day) with light smokers (6–10 cigarettes/day) and heavy smokers (>10 cigarettes/day). They found (a) that low-level smokers . . .

Jump to full article »

LETTER: Response to Dr. DiFranza's letter ($$) 

The first 10% of the full text of this article appears below.

We appreciate Dr. DiFranza's interest in our recently published Nicotine & Tobacco Research article entitled "Low-level smoking among Spanish-speaking Latino smokers: Relationships with demographics, tobacco dependence, withdrawal, and cessation" (Reitzel et al., 2009), and his commendations on our research with this underserved population. Dr. DiFranza's comments about our article largely concerned our interpretation of the data. Specifically, he stated . . .

Jump to full article »

Tobacco chewing link to oral cancer 

Bangladeshi people could be at higher risk of getting oral cancer because of the popularity of chewing tobacco, research has suggested.

Chewing paan, a mixture of tobacco and areca nut, is common within the Bangladeshi community and the habit may have led to an "alarming" rise in the number of cases of oral cancer in East London, according to researchers at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.

The findings are a contrast to the national picture where rising oral cancer rates have been linked to increased alcohol consumption, according to Cancer Research UK.

While drinking alcohol is frowned upon among East London's Bangladeshi population, the habit of chewing paan, which is known to cause oral cancer, is widespread, according to the research.

Jump to full article »

Hookah Health Hazard? 

Is a hookah pipe hazardous to your health? Tobacco and health experts will tackle that question at a day-long summit in Dearborn today.

The Arab community is trying to help raise awareness about the potential health risks of smoking fruit-flavored tobacco. 18-year-old Iptihal Nasser from Dearborn told WWJ that she smokes hookah (also known as argileh) about twice a week.

She doesn't believe that it's worse than cigarettes. "There's water, there's a filter. I don't think there's any rat poison in there or any of the stuff that cigarettes have to make you addicted. I've been smoking argileh for years and I've never gotten addicted to it like to the point where I have to smoke it," she said.

Jump to full article »

Lawmaker: Hands off anti-smoking programs targeting minorities  

Members of a legislative subcommittee that is scouring Arkansas’ tobacco settlement proceeds for extra money took notice of a $3 million fund balance in the master’s degree program on addiction studies at the University Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

But a Pine Bluff lawmaker says the little-known degree program and 17 community and school grants the university oversees should not be raided for funds to pay for other health-related programs because they and other minority health initiatives funded with tobacco settlement money are addressing a major problem — disparities in health services.

“It’s shocking. If you look at access to health care, you look at the demographics and minority residents, especially in the Delta, minorities don’t have sufficient health care,” Rep. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, said last week after meeting of a joint subcommittee of the House and Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor committees.

During the meeting, members carefully examined the budget of the state Health Department’s Smoking Prevention and Cessation Program’s budget looking for any excess funds that could be shifted to other health-related programs, such as adult drug courts. “I think that is the wrong direction,” Flowers said. . . .

One of the few programs of its kind in the country, director Jerry Lewis told lawmakers it prepares students for intervention, prevention and treatment of those with alcohol, tobacco, drug and gambling addictions. Students also learn how to manage addiction facilities.

Jump to full article »

Van Ost: Shameful tobacco control laws  

It's hard to fathom where Congress is finding the political cover necessary to pass an industry-sponsored love letter like this one. But it's coming from Philip Morris' partner in crafting the bill: a non-profit anti-smoking organization, "Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids." Why the exclusion of menthol cigarettes? . . .

A recent study of 1,700 smokers from the New Jersey University of Medicine and Dentistry Tobacco Dependence Program found that smokers of menthol cigarettes -- notably blacks and Latinos, more than 80 percent of whom smoke menthols -- had a harder time quitting even though they smoked fewer cigarettes per day. Minority communities are heavily marketed because its members tend to become addicted even when smoking fewer cigarettes and have half the quit rate of those who smoke non-menthol cigarettes. Result: much higher rates of lung cancer,

Coincidence? I think not. In early June, just prior to passage of the above control bill, Philip Morris introduced what it describes as its new "Marlboro menthol Blend No. 54", a "richer, bolder" flavor than its regular Marlboro menthol and Marlboro Smooth menthol cigarettes.

Jump to full article »

• Address smoking, drinking as one health risk  

A new study conducted by Temple researchers has shown that children who engage in heavy drinking will more than likely also engage in heavy smoking, suggesting that health teachers can help combat the trend by addressing both topics as one health risk.

"These are important findings because they emphasize the need for education and intervention programs that target the co-occurrence of these two health risks," said Brian Daly, assistant professor of public health in the College of Health Professions and Social Work.

The researchers determined rates of smoking and binge drinking through the collection of anonymous survey data from 2,450 African-American, Hispanic and Caucasian students in grades 9-12 at Philadelphia public high schools.

They compiled the students’ responses from the 2007 Philadelphia Youth Behavioral Risk Survey (YRBS).

In their study report, they have revealed that the students were asked how many cigarettes they''d had per day over 30 days, and how many days over a 30 day period they''d had 5 or more drinks in a row. . . .

It was found that while Caucasian adolescents were more likely than African-Americans to engage in either binge drinking or smoking, both groups were equally likely to engage in both at the same time.

Jump to full article »

Corrigendum to “Nicotine metabolism and CYP2A6 activity in a population of black African descent: Impact of gender and light smoking” 

Jump to full article »

Home Smoking Rules Tend To Vary By Race 

Prohibiting tobacco use at home could reduce adolescent smoking rates, but the practice might be less common in black families than in white ones, a new study found.

"African-American homes have fewer full bans, and more people are allowed to smoke in those homes," said Jessica Muilenburg, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of health promotion and behavior at the University of Georgia.

The study appears in the August issue of the journal Health Education & Behavior.

Jump to full article »

Home Smoking Rules Tend to Vary by Race  

ing rates, but the practice might be less common in black families than in white ones, a new study found.

“African-American homes have fewer full bans, and more people are allowed to smoke in those homes,” said Jessica Muilenburg, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of health promotion and behavior at the University of Georgia.

The study appears in the August issue of the journal Health Education & Behavior.

Researchers led by Muilenburg surveyed 4,296 Mississippi high school students about their smoking habits and home smoking rules. About three quarters of the teens surveyed were African-American; nearly one quarter were white.

Sixty-one percent of teens reported having smoking bans at home that disallowed any smoking; 32 percent of teens noted they were not allowed to smoke at home although adults were; and 7 percent of teens reported no restrictions on smoking at home. Students whose parents did not ban smoking were more likely to try smoking and smoke daily, and less likely to feel that smoking was dangerous to their health.

Overall, about 66 percent of white parents banned smoking at home completely, compared with 60 percent of African American parents.

Jump to full article »

• Home Smoking Rules Tend to Vary by Race 

Prohibiting tobacco use at home could reduce adolescent smoking rates, but the practice might be less common in black families than in white ones, a new study found.

“African-American homes have fewer full bans, and more people are allowed to smoke in those homes,” said Jessica Muilenburg, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of health promotion and behavior at the University of Georgia.

The study appears in the August issue of the journal Health Education & Behavior.

Researchers led by Muilenburg surveyed 4,296 Mississippi high school students about their smoking habits and home smoking rules. About three quarters of the teens surveyed were African-American; nearly one quarter were white.

Jump to full article »

Tobacco Companies Target Black Community for Disease and Death  

“You've come a long way, baby,” was a 1970s advertising slogan for Virginia Slims cigarettes, at least one of which featured a Black woman with an afro, African print tunic top and bell-bottom jeans. Considering, however, that Blacks were at one time forced, as slaves, to pick tobacco and bring great wealth to Caucasian-owned companies, some disagree that Blacks have come a long way when they are the group most devastated by the tobacco industry today.

La Tanisha Wright, Western Region Director for the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network (NAATPN), recently presented a 5 hour “Follow the Signs” seminar in Denver, Colorado to “raise awareness about how Big Tobacco specifically targets Black communities.” She laid out the facts that slave labor made the tobacco industry rich and that now, half of all deaths in the Black community are from smoking-related diseases; more Blacks die from lung cancer than any other group in the U.S.; 72% of Blacks are exposed to secondhand smoke, compared to 50% of Whites and 45% of Hispanics; and that smoking or secondhand smoke plays a large part in the high rate of asthma amongst Black adults and children.

Wright finds the statistics disturbing and thinks the disparities have much to do with tobacco companies targeting “urban” areas which are referred to as the “focus” market of cigarette companies. She knows this very well as she was employed for a leading company as a tobacco industry manager “responsible for developing promotional programs for urban markets.” After four years of firsthand experience, in 2005 she kissed the industry good bye and joined NAATPN to begin spreading the word and sounding an alarm to Blacks across the country.

Many Blacks are unaware that cigarette companies were some of the first to advertise with Black media in the 1950s; that they study and learn everything about Blacks in order to devise advertising campaigns to “lure” new smokers as customers; that the companies, Wright said, will do anything to sell nicotine – even lie and practice deception, and that the industry “preys” on Blacks because there is no outcry and they know they can get away with it. . . .

From the days of slavery, when Blacks were not only required to pick tobacco but were also bought with tobacco payments, to today, the industry appears to need the Black consumer or slave to survive. Wright even used a quote by Harriet Tubman to describe how she views her mission. “I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.”

Jump to full article »

I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.
Harriet Tubman quote cited by La Tanisha Wright, Western Region Director for the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network (NAATPN), in her “Follow the Signs” seminar.