- Originally published in Biotech Week February 23, 2005
Copyright 2005 Biotech Week via NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net
African American teens and young
adults who believe they are the victims of racial or ethnic harassment
are twice as likely to smoke cigarettes as those who do not face such
harassment.
A study of more than 2100 black college students found that those who
perceived harassment were two times as likely to use tobacco products
daily as those who reported no harassment.
The
increased risk was recorded even after adjusting for such variables as
gender, campus residence, grades, occupational status and age at first
tobacco use.
Data for the study were
drawn from a study of students at historically black colleges and
universities in North Carolina. Tobacco use on all of the previous 30
days was considered daily use.
The
report's authors, from the Harvard School of Public Health and
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, said their study reaffirms
previous findings that smoking is a common tool used to deal with the
psychological stress of perceived racism.
The study is published in the February 2005 issue of the
American Journal of Public Health.
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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