
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, November 4, 1994                   TAG: 9411040104
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA                                LENGTH: Medium

BLACK WOMEN KICK HABIT

Young black women have virtually given up smoking while more young white women are lighting up, ending what had been a quarter-century decline in the number of female smokers, the government reported Thursday.

In 1965, one in three women smoked. Since then, there has been a steady drop in the rate of female smokers. That decrease suddenly stopped in 1991, largely because more white women - particularly young ones - were smoking, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

``We've clearly lost our momentum with getting young white women not to smoke,'' said Michael Eriksen, director of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health. ``It's quite a contrast to young African-American women, where they're virtually giving up the habit.''

Among women ages 18 to 44, the rate of cigarette smoking rose from 25.6 percent in 1990 to 26.7 percent in 1991, and to 26.9 percent in 1992, according to an annual survey by the CDC. Preliminary evidence shows little change since then.

The rate of white female smokers rose from 26.5 percent in 1990 to 28.6 percent in 1992.

The rate for black women went from 22.8 percent in 1990 to 28.1 percent in 1991, then back to 22.6 percent in 1992. Researchers say they don't know how to explain the sharp rise then decline, except that it could be a statistical blip.

Rates for Hispanic women remained about the same, at 18.9 percent, from 1990 to 1992.

The racial difference was even greater among young women ages 18 to 24.

The rate for young white women remained unchanged at about 27 percent from 1987 to 1992. But for young black women it plunged - from 21.8 percent in 1987 to 5.9 percent in 1992.

Researchers said they couldn't fully explain the sharp drop.

``There's some evidence that white women used smoking for weight control and blacks don't appear to do that,'' said Dr. Kathryn Silbersiepe, a CDC epidemiologist.

The statistics show that tobacco advertising campaigns aimed at young white women are working, Silbersiepe said. She said the agency needs to learn how better to reach whites with its warnings about cigarettes.

In another report, the CDC said the number of Americans who favor restricting or even banning smoking in public places, particularly where teen-agers gather, is increasing.

In a survey of eight states, between 39.5 percent and 63 percent favored banning smoking in restaurants, up from 16.2 percent to 32.3 percent four years earlier.

The CDC also found that a majority of those surveyed favor limiting smoking in restaurants catering to children and at school-sponsored events. And they said laws banning the sale of cigarettes to minors should be enforced more strictly.

The survey was conducted among 2,507 people ages 18 and older in Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.

by CNB