Development and validation of a scale to assess attitudes and beliefs about menthol cigarettes among african american smokers.

To develop more effective smoking cessation interventions for the 70% of African American smokers who smoke menthol cigarettes, it is important to understand smokers' reasons for choosing menthols verses nonmenthols. This study conducted a focus group of African American smokers about their attitudes and beliefs about menthol cigarettes. These attitudes and beliefs, along with others from the literature, were included in a survey of 720 African American smokers in Los Angeles County, California. Five common factors emerged-Medicinal Effects, Image, Less Harmful, Tradition, and Taste/Sensation. Menthol smokers had significantly higher scores on the Taste/Sensation, Medicinal Effects, and Less Harmful scales than nonmenthol smokers did. Men were significantly more likely than women to endorse Medicinal Effects, Image, and Tradition, whereas women were significantly more likely to endorse Taste/Sensation. Education was inversely associated with endorsement of Medicinal Effects, Image, Less Harmful, and Tradition. Respondents aged 40 years or older had significantly higher scores on Medicinal Effects, Image, and Less Harmful, compared with younger respondents. Smoking cessation interventions for African American menthol smokers should address commonly held myths that menthols have medicinal effects and are less harmful than nonmenthols, especially among smokers who are older, male, and/or have low levels of education. The new measures presented in this article could be useful for tailoring cessation interventions to individual smokers' attitudes and beliefs about menthol cigarettes.

Menthol and non-menthol cigarette use among Black smokers in Southern California.

INTRODUCTION: Menthol cigarette smoking is more prevalent among Blacks than among other groups in the United States. This study examined associations between demographic, psychological, attitudinal, social, and cultural factors and menthol smoking among Black adults. METHODS: This study recruited 720 Black smokers from community intercept locations throughout Los Angeles County, California, and surveyed them by telephone. RESULTS: Fifty-seven percent of respondents were menthol-only smokers, 15% were regular-only smokers, and 28% smoked both menthols and regular cigarettes (combined smokers). In bivariate models, menthol-only and combined smokers had stronger beliefs in the medicinal effects of menthols relative to regular-only smokers. Menthol-only smokers held stronger beliefs, relative to regular-only smokers, that menthols were less harmful than regular cigarettes. Menthol-only smokers preferred the menthol taste/sensation more than combined smokers, who preferred the menthol taste/sensation more than regular-only smokers. Menthol-only and combined smokers had more menthol smokers in their current social networks compared with regular-only smokers. In multivariate analyses, preference for menthol taste/sensation, belief in medicinal effects of menthols, and menthol smokers in current social network differentiated menthol-only and combined smokers from regular-only smokers, controlling for confounding variables. Correlates of menthol smoking varied across genders and age groups. DISCUSSION: Health education efforts are needed to dispel the myth that menthol cigarettes are more medicinal and less harmful than regular cigarettes. Prevention and cessation efforts in Black communities can be tailored to reflect predictors of menthol smoking to reduce tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. In the era of Food and Drug Administration regulation of cigarettes, research is needed to prevent health disparities associated with menthol cigarette smoking.

Assessing screening mammography utilization in an urban area.

This study was conducted to determine the predictors of screening mammography among women 40 years old and older residing in South Central Los Angeles, California. The population is predominately African American and Hispanic. Using Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) software and the Random Digit Dialing (RDD) method, a 54-item, 20-min questionnaire was administered to 505 women. All interviews were conducted in English or Spanish. The Health Belief Model provided the conceptual framework for the design of the questionnaire. A majority (81.8%) of the participants reported having at least one mammogram in their lifetime, with African Americans reporting the lowest rate (74.7%). Multiple logistic regression analyses found that 4 of the 23 independent variables assessed were predictive of ever users of mammography (p < 0.05), while 6 independent variables were predictive of never users of mammography (p < 0.05). A significant finding of this study is the lower rate of screening mammography utilization in this sample compared to estimates for the general population. The results of this study also suggest that substantial improvements in the rate of screening mammography could be achieved if women in their 40s, who are without health insurance, were referred by their physicians to have affordable mammograms every year or two.