Smokeless tobacco consumption by Mexican-American University students.

A modified version of the Illinois Department of Public Health Smokeless Tobacco Survey was administered to 220 women and 134 men attending a state university in New Mexico. The respondents included 65 male and 83 female Mexican-Americans as well as 118 female and 59 male Anglo-Americans. All Mexican-American women identified themselves as nonusers of smokeless tobacco. Of the Anglo-American women, one indicated that she used snuff, and 3 disclosed that they chewed tobacco. 33% of the Anglo-American men and 18% of the Mexican-American men stated that they used smokeless tobacco products. A chi-squared analysis showed this difference was significant. Implications are discussed.