ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS AND TOBACCO

Fact Sheet (September, 1998)

Asians/Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, nearly tripling in size from 1980 to 1998. Among racial and ethnic groups, the prevalence of current smoking is lowest among Asians/Pacific Islanders (16.6 percent), compared with American Indians/Alaskan Natives (36.2 percent), African Americans (25.8 percent), whites (25.6 percent), and Hispanics (18.3 percent).

• Recent prevalence data show that Asian American and Pacific Islander men (25.1 percent) and white men (27.6 percent) smoked at similar rates. However, smoking prevalence was substantially lower among Asian American and Pacific Islander women (5.8 percent) compared with white women (24.4 percent). Nonetheless, unlike the general population, smoking rates among Asian and Pacific Islander women increases with age.

• There are significant variations in smoking rates among Asian Americans and Pacific Islander groups. Much higher smoking rates are seen among population groups from Southeast Asia (e.g., Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos) than among population groups from other locations (e.g., Philippines, China, Japan). Smoking rates are much higher among Asian American and Pacific Islander men than among Asian American and Pacific Islander women, regardless of country of origin.

• Research shows that among Asian American and Pacific Islander adults from Southeast Asia, those who are more proficient in English and those living in the United States longer are less likely to be smokers.

• While in the general population, smoking among women decreases with age, smoking rates among Asian American and Pacific Islander women increase with age.

• Asian American and Pacific Islander smokers (both male and female) tend to smoke fewer cigarettes per day (a half a pack daily or less) than whites.

For more information on issues related to smoking, call your local American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit our web site at http://www.lungusa.org.

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