Smoking trends among Filipino adults in California, 1990-2002.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Filipinos comprise about 18% of the Asian/Pacific Islander American (APIA) population and are increasing. Few studies have examined Filipino current smoking prevalence rates (CSPR) and none have described trends over time. METHODS: Trends in CSPR were estimated for Filipinos and non-Hispanic whites (NHW) from 1990-2002 from the California Tobacco Surveys (N>42,000/year). RESULTS: CSPR for Filipino males declined 23.7% (95% CI 18.7, 28.7) in 1990 to 18.7% (15.3, 22.1) in 2002 (p<0.05). The decline in CSPR for Filipino women was non-significant (p=0.24), 9.8% (5.5, 14.1) in 1990 and 7.7% (5.3, 10.1) in 2002. During the same period, CSPR among NHW males declined 24.4% (23.8, 25.0) in 1990 to 18.8% (18.1, 19.4) in 2002 (p<0.01). For female NHW, CSPR were 21.3% (20.5, 22.0) in 1990 and 15.0% (14.4, 15.6) in 2002 (p<0.01). Adjusted logistic regression for Filipinos suggest that English language use is associated with current smoking among females (p<0.01) and that, overall, 18-29 year-olds were more likely to be current smokers than those 45+ years old (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Trends for male Filipino current smokers declined similarly to male NHW from 1990-2002; female rates were lower but did not decline. Future smoking prevention and cessation programs would benefit by taking into account important differences in smoking rates between genders and age groups.