From Yale: Understanding disparities in subpopulations of women who smoke

Curr Addict Reports. 2014 Mar 1;1(1):69-74.

Understanding disparities in subpopulations of women who smoke.

Smith MV1, Ramsay C2, Mazure CM3.

Author information

• 1Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, 142 Temple Street, Suite #301, New Haven, CT 06511, USA ; Yale University School of Medicine, Child Study Center, 135 College Street, Suite #220, New Haven, CT 06510, USA ; Yale School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Social & Behavioral Sciences, 135 College Street, Suite #220, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
• 2Yale University, Department of Psychology, 135 College Street, Suite #220, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
• 3Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, 142 Temple Street, Suite #301, New Haven, CT 06511, USA ; Yale University School of Medicine, Child Study Center, 135 College Street, Suite #220, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.

Abstract

Tobacco use is the leading known cause of preventable death and disease among women. In this paper we use fundamental concepts and definitions from the general health-disparities literature to examine smoking behavior among subpopulations of women. We focus on three factors associated with disparities in smoking behavior among subgroups of women-race and/or ethnicity, educational status, and acculturation. We suggest that research on smoking behavior among subpopulations of women is beginning to reveal not only different smoking behavior but disparities among women in different subpopulations. We conclude that subpopulation-based understanding of gender differences and disparities in smoking is critical to improvement of research design, intervention objectives, and public health policy on smoking in women.