By WENDY HOLDREN
The Register-Herald
BECKLEY, W.Va. — Despite a drop in cigarette smoking nationwide, a new report led by a West Virginia University public health expert shows minority groups are at higher risk for tobacco-related diseases than others.
Published by the National Cancer Institute and led by Linda Alexander, associate dean of academic affairs for the WVU School of Public Health and professor of social and behavioral sciences, the report gives a comprehensive review of tobacco use among racial and ethnic minorities and low-socioeconomic-status populations.
The new report’s findings reveal that racial and ethnic minorities, members of the LGBTQ community, and low-socioeconomic-status women and girls have benefited relatively slowly from evidence-based practices that reduce cigarette smoking.
Most smoking-cessation trials required that smokers consume at least 10 cigarettes a day to qualify, but nearly half of racial- and ethnic-minority smokers were not able to participate because they smoked less than that, which resulted in a lack of data that could inform smoking-cession programs targeted at racial and ethnic minorities, including those who may not identify as “smokers.”
Gathering tobacco-use data can also be especially tricky when it comes to disadvantaged groups.
“Collecting this data requires a level of sensitivity to understand that for some populations, answering questions about their immigration status, or about their condition in terms of being pregnant, could have unintended consequences,” Alexander said. “A smoker who fears deportation, legal action or social stigma may be less than forthcoming.”
The new report also affirms the importance of having scientific investigators who are familiar with, or even come from, the underrepresented groups being studied.
Alexander is the first African American to serve as senior editor for a volume in the NCI’s Tobacco Control Monograph series, which began its run in 1991. Her collaborator, Pebbles Fagan, who directs the Center for the Study of Tobacco at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is the first African American to serve as the volume’s scientific advisor.
“The editors and authors of this monograph contributed months of their time, talent and energy over and above what they are required to do for their regular work,” Alexander said. “Many of these individuals have worked legitimately with the populations this monograph highlights.”
The report will help inform policies, programs and partnerships with communities that are most affected by tobacco-related health disparities. Additionally, the report will serve as a resource for future research, including additional exploration of how tobacco use affects people who are part of two or more disadvantaged groups at the same time.
Email: wholdren@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @WendyHoldren
