On May 31, you can join thousands of people who will begin their smoke-free journey on World No Tobacco Day! This annual event from the World Health Organization to "draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes." Need help quitting smoking? Enroll in Quitxt, a free English or Spanish text-message service that turns your phone into a personal “quit smoking” coach from UT Health San Antonio. To join Quitxt, text “iquit” (for English) or “lodejo” (for Spanish) to 844-332-2058. “On World No Tobacco Day, we’re excited to share Quitxt to provide real-time help with motivation to quit, setting a quit date, handling stress, and much more, all on your phone,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Salud America! ...
Only 7.7% of Latino adults in 2021 smoked cigarettes, which is lower than the national prevalence of 11.5%, the Truth Initiative reports. But the news isn’t all good. While Latino adults have a lower usage rate of all tobacco products than adults overall, smoking prevalence differs widely within Latino subgroups and by gender. Let’s explore Latino tobacco use and why it matters for health.
Cigarette Smoking Patterns in Latino Adults
Latinos in the U.S. that identify as Puerto Rican reported the highest current smoking prevalence at 17%. The lowest rates are among Latinos with Central or South American origin (6%), the Truth Initiative reports. Latina women have a lower smoking rates (6%) than Latino men (12%). In 2022, 7.8% of young Latino adults ...
You don’t have to stop smoking in one day. Start with Day 1. On Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, you can join thousands of people who will begin their smoke-free journey with the Great American Smokeout. This annual event from the American Cancer Society encourages smokers to make a plan to stop smoking. Need help? Enroll in Quitxt, a free English or Spanish text-message service that turns your phone into a personal “quit smoking” coach from UT Health San Antonio. To join Quitxt, text “iquit” (for English) or “lodejo” (for Spanish) to 844-332-2058. “For the Great American Smokeout, we’re excited to share Quitxt to provide real-time help with motivation to quit, setting a quit date, handling stress, and much more, all on your phone,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, ...
Dr. Patricia Chalela of UT Health San Antonio has received a new five-year, $2 million research grant to test the impact of Quitxt, a bilingual text messaging program that helps Latino young adults in South Texas to quit smoking. The grant is among $90 million for new cancer prevention and research projects from the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). For the grant, Dr. Chalela and her team will recruit 1,200 Latino smokers ages 18-29 who agree to try to quit smoking. Half will receive Quitxt, a free texting service with culturally appropriate visual, video, and audio content fueled with evidence-based techniques to prompt and sustain smoking cessation. The other half will get abbreviated text messages and referral to the "Yes Quit" smoking cessation ...
The 2023 New Year brings about new resolutions for many hoping to adopt a healthier lifestyle like eating healthier or exercising more. Quitting smoking could help, too. With several health problems stemming from smoking including cancer, heart disease, and respiratory infections, why not quit smoking as a resolution? Let’s dive into the facts and benefits of leaving smoking behind in 2022!
Rates of Latino Smokers
Over 32.4 million American adults still smoke cigarettes, according to the American Cancer Society. The CDC reports that cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. How does this impact Latinos? About 1 in 13 (8%) Latino adults in the U.S. smokes cigarettes, according to the CDC. Cigarette smoking ...
You don’t have to stop smoking in one day. Start with Day 1. On Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, you can join thousands of people who will begin their smoke-free journey with the Great American Smokeout. This annual event from the American Cancer Society encourages smokers to make a plan to stop smoking. Need help? Enroll in Quitxt, a free English or Spanish text-message service that turns your phone into a personal “quit smoking” coach from UT Health San Antonio. To join Quitxt, text “iquit” (for English) or “lodejo” (for Spanish) to 844-332-2058. “For the Great American Smokeout, we’re excited to share Quitxt to provide real-time help with motivation to quit, setting a quit date, handling stress, and much more, all on your phone,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, ...
In the bar or club, it's easy to find people smoking and drinking. What would happen if health workers walked into these venues to ask cigarette smokers — face to face — to join a quit-smoking service on their phone? To find out, UT Health San Antonio researchers and an ad agency trained "street teams" to go into bars and clubs in San Antonio, Texas, to talk to patrons about joining Quitxt, a bilingual service that uses text messages to help young Latino adults quit smoking. Street teams talked with 3,923 people and enrolled 335 to Quitxt over 10 days in March 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic halted work, according to a new study in the journal JMIR Formative Research. "Direct outreach in bars and clubs is a useful method for connecting young adult cigarette smokers with ...
Two more cities have prohibited smoking inside apartment units. On April 26, 2022, Riverside, Calif., city leaders preliminarily approved a ban on smoking in multifamily-housing rental complexes, including individual apartment homes and attached balconies and patios. Latino tenants helped drive the measure. On May 10, 2022, Vallejo, Calif., city leaders banned smoking in multi-unit residences. Bans like these—to reduce exposure to harmful secondhand smoke among apartment and condo tenants—are on the rise. "Upon adoption, Riverside would join at least 167 California cities and counties that have enacted ordinances to restrict smoking in multifamily housing complexes, said Karina Funez, advocacy policy manager for the American Lung Association in California, which has been ...
This week is the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout. This observance emphasizes the need to stop youths from smoking or help them quit smoking. One thing that is working is flavored tobacco bans or restrictions. "Policies that restrict the sale of flavored tobacco have the potential to curb youth tobacco use in as few as 6 months," according to a recent study from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and RAND Corporation. Let's explore how leaders are addressing youth use of flavored tobacco products.
What Did a Massachusetts Study Reveal about Flavored Tobacco Bans?
A 2019 Massachusetts and RAND Corporation study evaluated the short-term impact of a flavored tobacco restriction policy on youth access to, and use of, flavored tobacco products in Lowell, ...