Smoking is responsible for 87 percent of all lung cancers in the U.S. Data from the 1998-99 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey identified increasing rates of smoking in the 18- to 24-year-old young adults, unemployed, blue-collar, low socio-economic population, especially inner city African-American young adults as a growing health concern. While studies are looking at young adults attending college, little if any research has targeted the more vulnerable and high-risk population, which is the unemployed, underemployed or blue-collar, inner-city African-American young adults. Exploratory studies are desperately needed to better understand the alarmingly high smoking rates in this population. Culturally appropriate interventions in early adulthood could ultimately reduce the burden of tobacco-related cancers experienced by older African-American adults. In Baltimore City, the proportion of 18- to 24-year-olds initiating smoking increased from 24.7 percent in 2000 to 39.8 percent in 2002. With support from the Cancer Restitution Fund and the American Legacy Foundation, the Institute for Global Tobacco Control has initiated two studies in Baltimore to develop culturally appropriate intervention strategies to eliminate tobacco use in 18- to 24-year-old urban, inner city African Americans and to translate the knowledge learned into a clinical trial to test efficacy of these intervention strategies. Cancer Prevention in African-American Young Adults The Urban African-American Community's Response to Tobacco Control Policies: Acquisition of Cigarettes Among 18- to 24-Year-Olds
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