Smoking Behaviors in Arab Americans: Acculturation and Health Beliefs

Introduction: Arab Americans are a growing population in the United States. In the 2011 American Community Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau reported there were close to 1.8 million Arab Americans living within the United States, a 47% increase in population size from 2000. According to the Arab American Institute, currently, that estimate has grown to approximately 3.7 million. They have high rates of smoking and low rates of smoking cessation. In this study, the researchers investigated factors influencing desire to quit smoking among Arab Americans, and their association with acculturation and health beliefs. Methodology: Cross-sectional descriptive study investigating smoking behaviors and factors influencing the desire to quit smoking among adult Arab American. Data were collected to measure tobacco use, nicotine dependence, desire to quit smoking, acculturation, and health beliefs. Results: The sample (N = 96) was 55% female, mean age of 44 years (±14.79). The desire to quit smoking was positively associated with perceived severity (p <.05) and susceptibility to cancer (p <.05), perceived benefits of quitting smoking (p <.01); and negatively associated with smoking barriers (addiction barriers p <.05, external barriers p =.27, internal barriers p <.05), and nicotine dependence (p <.05). Being female, having a lower level of nicotine dependence, and a higher perception of cancer severity predicted higher desire to quit smoking (p <.01). Discussion: Smoking cessation intervention studies need to target appropriate health beliefs, especially the high risk of cancer caused by smoking among Arab Americans.