African-American teen smokers: Issues to consider for cessation treatment

Previous reports have indicated ethnic differences in both tobacco-related morbidity and treatment outcome for smoking cessation among adults. We asse ssed smoking-related characteristics in African-American and non-African Am erican teenagers applying to a cessation trial. 115 teens (15.9 +/- 1.8 yea rs, 68% females, 27% African-American) responded via telephone to media ads . Self-reported sociodemographic, medical and smoking-related data were obt ained to determine pre-eligibility for a full intake screen prior to trial participation. Compared to non-African American, African American teen appl icants were older (16.4 +/- 1.7 years versus 15.6 +/- 1.6, p = 0.015), had lower Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) scores 15.3 -+/- 2.3 v ersus 6.1 +/- 1.8; p = 0.018, ANOVA controlling for age) and smoked fewer c igarettes on the weekend (27 +/- 16 versus 38 +/- 17, p = 0.001). African A merican teens reported similar duration of smoking (3.3 +/- 1.4 versus 3.1 +/- 1.5 years) and time elapsed between first cigarette ever smoked and dai ly smoking (0.7 +/- 0.9 versus 0.6 +/- 0.7 years). African American and non -African American teens had similar motivation to quit scores and frequency of reported health problems (e.g., asthma, psychiatric conditions). These data suggest that cessation treatment programs designed for African America n youth should include lower Fagerstrom-defined levels, and possibly other criteria for tobacco dependence. These observations also highlight the impo rtance of ethnocultural issues in treatment research programs.