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Smoking Prevalence Among US Blacks: A Southern Factor?
Objective:
To examine differences in smoking prevalence among black adults
by state in the United States. Methods: Data from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System (BRFSS) for 1992-1993 were used, along with census data.
Results: Smoking prevalence among blacks varied from 15.7%
(Alabama} to 33.8% (Indiana). A group of states in the Lower South
had low smoking-prevalence rates among blacks, despite high black
poverty rates. Conclusion: Delineating the factors responsible
for 1ower smoking rates among blacks in the Lower South could be
useful in efforts to maintain such rates and to plan smoking prevention
and cessation programs for blacks in other geographic areas. |