Smoking prevalence among US blacks: A southern factor?

Objective: To examine differences in smoking prevalence among black adults by state in the United States. Methods: Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for 1992-1993 were used, along with census data. Results: Smoking prevalence among blacks varied from 15.7% (Alabama) to 33.8% (Indiana). A group of states in the Lower South had low smoking-prevalence rates among blacks, despite high black poverty rates. Conclusion: Delineating the factors responsible for lower smoking rates among blacks in the Lower South could be useful in efforts to maintain such rates and to plan smoking prevention and cessation programs for blacks in other geographic areas.