Smoking trends among Filipino adults in California, 1990-2002

Abstract Objectives Filipinos comprise about 18% of the Asian/Pacific Islander American (APIA) population and are increasing. Few studies have examined Filipino current smoking prevalence rates (CSPR) and none have described trends over time. Methods Trends in CSPR were estimated for Filipinos and non-Hispanic whites (NHW) from 1990–2002 from the California Tobacco Surveys ( N  > 42,000/year). Results CSPR for Filipino males declined: 23.7% (95% CI: 18.7, 28.7) in 1990 to 18.7% (15.3, 22.1) in 2002 ( p p  = 0.24), 9.8% (5.5, 14.1) in 1990 and 7.7% (5.3, 10.1) in 2002. During the same period, CSPR among NHW males declined: 24.4% (23.8, 25.0) in 1990 to 18.8% (18.1, 19.4) in 2002 ( p p p  p  Conclusion Trends for male Filipino current smokers declined similarly to male NHW from 1990–2002; female rates were lower but did not decline. Future smoking prevention and cessation programs would benefit by taking into account important differences in smoking rates between genders and age groups.