Smoking among white high school students increased from 31 to 40 percent. From 1990 to 1995, cigarette smoking increased by 17 percent among Asian American 12th graders and by 26 percent among their American Indian and Alaska Native counterparts. Cigarette smoking is a major cause of death and disease among all minority and ethnic groups. The increase in youth smoking threatens to reverse recent progress made against lung cancer among these groups. African-American men bear the greatest health burdens from lung cancer, with death rates about 50 percent higher than whites.
Smoking increases infant mortality and low birth weight.
The risk of low birth weight babies is almost twice as high for smokers than for non-smokers. Among smokers, the rate of sudden infant death syndrome is particularly high among Hispanics, African Americans, and Asian Americans. The tobacco industry has targeted advertising and promotion campaigns in ethnic and minority communities that pose serious challenges to reducing smoking among this population. More research is needed to understand racial and ethnic smoking patterns and to reduce tobacco use among racial and ethnic minorities. The Surgeon General's report highlights successful community-based tobacco prevention and cessation programs, as well as successful federal programs that are tailored to the needs of specific minority and ethnic communities.