Faculty Bibliography

Smokeless tobacco and areca nut usage are integral cultural traditions in South Asia. Paan and gutka are two commonly used products which contain these ingredients. They are immensely popular in South Asia and with South Asian immigrants. Regular paan and gutka use is associated with several deleterious health consequences, most significantly oral cancer. Of particular concern is the markedly increased risk of oral cancer in South Asian immigrants when compared with the natives in new areas of settlement. The South Asian community in the United States is large and rapidly growing. Paan and gutka are legal in the United States, and readily available in ethnic enclaves. Smokeless tobacco prevention and cessation research and interventions have not yet addressed the unique sociocultural circumstances of this growing, at-risk community. The medical, dental, and public health communities need to join forces to combat this emerging threat

Cigarette ads in popular magazines play a role in smoking and in brand preferences among women and men, but few studies have analyzed ads directed at women vs men, and no study has examined ads directed at women of different ethnic groups. Hence, we examined cigarette ads in popular magazines for White women, Latinas, and men 1998 through 2002 for the first time. Significant differences in the number of cigarette ads by magazine audience were found, along with significant differences in the type and brands of cigarettes advertised to each group. These preliminary findings suggest that the tobacco industry may target women in a manner that differs from its targeting of men, and may target Latinas in a manner that it does not target White women. Results are discussed in terms of the need for further research on tobacco ads directed at women