Adapting To U.S. Culture Helps Latino Men Quit Smoking

Study: Adapting To U.S. Culture Helps Latino Men Quit Smoking
David Goodhue, All Headline News, Dec. 3, 2009

Houston, Texas (AHN) - Latino men who acclimate to U.S. culture are more likely to quit smoking than their counterparts who resist adapting to the influence of their new country, according to a recent study.

Researchers with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center studied 271 Latino smokers who called a Spanish language smoking cessation quit helpline. The researchers examined the influence of gender and cultural influences in the men's ability to quit.

The researchers said in a statement that the men's number of years and proportion of life spent in the United States, along with English preference for watching news and other television programs were positively linked to their success in quitting smoking.

The researchers said they examined six "acculturation factors" in the study: years in the United States, proportion of life lived in the United States, immigrant/non-immigrant status, language spoken at home, language spoken at work, and preferred media language. Of those, only language spoken at home and at work were not significant, they said.

The study is published in the December issue of Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.