title: Awareness and Use of South Asian Tobacco Products Among South Asians in New Jersey.
abstract: South Asians are the third largest Asian group in the US and among the fastest growing racial groups in New Jersey. Tobacco consumption among South Asians is characterized by several smoked and smokeless tobacco products indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. However, there is a paucity of research on tobacco use behaviors among South Asians in the US. The goal of this study was to examine the awareness and use of South Asian tobacco products such as bidis, gutkha, paan, paan masala, and zarda as well as other potentially carcinogenic products such as supari, their context of use, and their cultural significance among South Asians living in the US. Eight focus groups were conducted with South Asian adults living in Central New Jersey. Overall, participants were aware of a wide variety of foreign and American tobacco products with older South Asians identifying a greater variety of indigenous products compared to younger South Asians. Hookah was consistently recognized as popular among the younger generation while products such as paan or paan masala were more commonly identified with elders. Use of tobacco-related products such as paan and supari were described as common at social gatherings or after meals. In addition, light or social users of South Asian tobacco products, including products not consistently defined as tobacco, may not report tobacco use on a survey. Better understanding of the use of these products among South Asians and how some may classify tobacco usage can inform future research and public health interventions in these communities.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 335 George Street, Suite 2100, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA. mary.hrywna@sph.rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hrywna
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 335 George Street, Suite 2100, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jane Lewis
authors.affiliation: Health Sciences Program, California State University, East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Boulevard, Hayward, CA, 94542, USA.
authors.forename: Arnab
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mukherjea
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 641 Lexington Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10022, USA.
authors.forename: Smita C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Banerjee
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Clinical Academic Building (CAB), 125 Paterson Street, Suite 2304, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA.
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 335 George Street, Suite 2100, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA.
authors.forename: Cristine D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Delnevo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001208:Asia / Q000208:ethnology; D001213:Asian; D044466:Asian People; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009515:New Jersey; D012307:Risk Factors; D062789:Tobacco Products; D064424:Tobacco Use / Q000208:ethnology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Qualitative study; Smokeless tobacco; South Asians; Tobacco