Association Between Any Major Discrimination and Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adult African American Men

Abstract

Thirty-two percent of the men were current smokers. Controlling for everyday discrimination, major discrimination, major stress, depressive symptoms, age, being married, household income, and education, African American men who experienced major discrimination had a higher odd of being a current smoking (odds ratio: 1.11, 95% confidence interval: 1.02-1.21) than African American men who did not experience major discrimination. Conclusion/Importance: Findings suggest that African American men may use cigarette smoking as a mechanism to alleviate the experiences of discrimination. Future studies should continue to examine factors associated with African American men's smoking behavior in efforts to inform culturally relevant interventions.