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Latinas and Smoking

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Latinas smoke less than other women of color. That's the good news. But scratch the surface and the news gets worse….among segments of the Latina population, such as among young Hispanic women, smoking is on the rise. One in three Latina teens smokes. A 1999 survey found 70 percent of Latinas in grades nine thru 12 report having smoked at least once.

Factors promoting smoking among young Latinas include targeted marketing by tobacco companies, acculturation and weight control.

Jeanette Noltenius, Hispanic tobacco-control consultant and former head of the National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco, says, "Latino women are not really made, and they were not normally twiggies, and very thin, much heavier. We have a real obesity problem, a childhood obesity problem in Latino communities, so it's easy for Latino women to see themselves and say, "We've got to lose weight, and cigarettes are a way of losing weight." And it's not long ago that doctors were saying, you know, "it's okay for you to smoke in order to keep your weight down."

Aida Giachello, Director of the Midwest Latino Health Research Center, says, "There's the whole thing about beauty/being sexy. If you smoke you will be more attractive. Other messages that they are using lately is even using the family context, how drinking and smoking are usually seen as a normal kind of activity during gathering family."

Latinos are not homogenous. Hispanics include a wide variety of ethnicities. Those differences even impact smoking rates. While the overall Latina smoking rate is 14%, Noletenius says Puerto Ricans have very high rates, up to 38%. Mexican-Americans have lower rates, and recent immigrants have much lower rates of 7 or 8%. "So what is characteristic is that the longer you are in this country, the more acculturated you are. You know, if you are five generations in this country and have a low educational level, the more likelihood is that you will smoke."

Smoking during pregnancy has been linked to low birth weight and other problems. So it's especially important, and a great opportunity, to target pregnant Latina smokers. Experts also say Latinas don't have enough information about the relationship between smoking and higher rates of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetic complications. Since many also lack health insurance and have limited access to medical care, that too keeps Latinas from joining programs designed to help them quit. Once a Latina contracts a smoking related disease, there are similar complications. Then there's the problem that in the community, enforcement of anti-smoking laws is lax, so minors have easy access to tobacco. All these issues come into play when creating programs designed to help Latinas kick butts. Advocates say they also need to convince community organizations to turn down money from the tobacco industry for cultural events. And programs need to engage the community at the grassroots.

LINKS AND RESOURCES
National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco

American Cancer Society

National Cancer Institute

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids