Adult cigarette smoking prevalence trends among African Americans (AAs) and Whites are similar. However, during the decline in youth smoking that occurred between the mid-1970s and the early 1990s, the drop in smoking rates among AA adolescents was more than double that among Whites. These dramatic racial differences in youth cigarette smoking persist and may even be widening to this day. The parallel trend in adult smoking prevalence between AAs and Whites, together with the dramatic drop in uptake of smoking among AA youth, implies a much lower rate of smoking cessation among AA adult smokers. This presentation will describe these differing trends in cigarette smoking by different ethnic and racial groups in the United States and will attempt to explain the reasons for these differences. These differences, and their causes, have implications for tobacco control policy, tobacco product regulation, and treatment strategies for smokers.
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