Challenges in tobacco use prevention among minority youth.

Introduction Approximately 80% of smokers began using tobacco products before 18 years of age (1). Between 1990 and 2000, the population growth rate (shown in parentheses) within each of the following racial/ethnic minority populations increased more rapidly than that for whites (5%): Asian Americans (48%); Hispanics (47%); blacks (15%); American Indians/Alaska Natives (15%); and Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islanders (9%; Ref. 2). Proportionally, more racial/ethnic minorities smoke cigarettes than whites (3). Therefore, an important challenge is prevention of tobacco use initiation among minority youth. What might appear to be a simplistic response (not initiating tobacco use) is challenging to implement and requires specially targeted efforts.