Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
Division of Intramural Research, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Apr 7;19(8):4430. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19084430.
Black young adults experience disparately high rates of cigar use and its health consequences. Little research has explored community-level influences on cigar smoking in this population, especially concerning product-specific influences and cigar smokers' perceptions. We conducted in-depth interviews with 40 Black young adult (ages 21-29) cigar smokers in the Washington, D.C. area and analyzed themes regarding physical and sociocultural community-level factors perceived to influence cigar use. Themes were further analyzed based on participants' predominant cigar products (cigarillos, large cigars, blunts). Participants reported easy access to affordable cigarillos, widespread cigarillo sales and targeted marketing, norms of cigar and blunt smoking for stress relief, socialization, and cultural participation, and ubiquitous cigar and blunt smoking cues, all of which promoted cigar use in their communities. Future research should further explore how community-level influences contribute to disproportionate cigar use among Black young adults. Our findings suggest that programs and policies addressing physical and sociocultural community-level pro-smoking influences may help mitigate cigar smoking disparities.
黑人年轻成年人雪茄烟使用率及其健康后果存在显著差异。关于该人群中社区层面因素对雪茄烟消费的影响，尤其是针对特定产品的影响和雪茄烟民认知的研究较少。我们在华盛顿特区地区对 40 名黑人年轻成年（21-29 岁）雪茄烟民进行了深入访谈，并对感知到影响雪茄烟使用的身体和社会文化社区层面因素进行了主题分析。根据参与者主要使用的雪茄产品（小雪茄、大雪茄、水烟）进一步分析了主题。参与者报告说，他们很容易获得价格合理的小雪茄，小雪茄的销售和有针对性的营销广泛存在，雪茄和水烟被认为是缓解压力、社交和文化参与的方式，无处不在的雪茄和水烟提示都促进了他们社区内的雪茄烟消费。未来的研究应进一步探讨社区层面的影响如何导致黑人年轻成年人中雪茄烟使用的不成比例。我们的研究结果表明，解决身体和社会文化社区层面促烟因素的方案和政策可能有助于减少雪茄烟消费的差异。
