Smoking and Cancer in Asian Americans
According to a recent press release from UC Davis, Asian American males (Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese American) in California die of cancer 3 times the rate of South Asian females in California…
… and this difference in non-lung cancer death rate may be explained almost entirely by smoking.
I don’t know what the overall rates would be if we accounted for all the states in the U.S., and it would be worthwhile to look into it, considering how California is as anti-smoking a state as they come (no smoking in our restaurants, bars, even some of our beaches)!
But this does point to a trend that is partly disturbing and partly encouraging. Disturbing because of a difference in mortality rate that may be gender-specific, and encouraging because smoking cessation can be within one’s control and with help.
The lead investigator in the study suggested that more funding be available to look at tobacco control for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, as well as other Americans. Similar patterns had been previously found for cancer death rates in African Americans.
UC Davis provided numbers for smoking cessation assistance:
- English (800) QUIT NOW
- Cantonese (800) 838-8917
- Korean (800) 556-5564
- Mandarin (800) 838-8917
- Vietnamese (800) 778-8440
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1 opinion for Smoking and Cancer in Asian Americans
Chinspirations.com (est. 1997) » April 16-22, 2006
Apr 21, 2006 at 1:06 pm
[…] Smoking and Cancer in Asian Americans […]
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