Learning Objectives: understand differences in health knowledge regarding cigarette consumption among Chinese and Non-Chinese smokers, and the importance of implementing culturally sensitive tobacco health education among Chinese smokers.
Abstract: This study evaluated health knowledge regarding cigarettes consumption among Chinese and Non-Chinese smokers who were ready to quit smoking in the next six months as opposed to those who indicated no intention to quit. We recruited a convenience sample of 413 current smokers from the San Francisco Bay Area. The Chinese sample (n=201) consisted of 20.3% females with mean age=41.2 years, 66.2% had high school education or above and mean consumption of 8.6 cigarettes/day. The non-Chinese sample (n=211) consisted of 55.4% female with mean age=39.8 years, 69.2% with high school education or above, and mean consumption of 14.3 cigarettes/day. A 2 (Chinese versus Non-Chinese) by 2 (intention to quit in the next 6 months versus no intention) ANOVA was conducted on participants’ scores for a 12-item Health Knowledge Scale. No significant interaction effect was observed. Mean health knowledge score was higher in smokers who intended to quit compared to those who did not (9.12 vs. 8.52; F(1, 407)=7.302, p=0.007). Significant health knowledge differences were found between Chinese and Non-Chinese smokers regardless of their intention to quit (8.46 vs. 9.34; F(1, 407)=18.1, p<0.001). Health knowledge was not significantly associated with sociodemographic variables such as education, annual income, and age in the study sample. These findings suggest that higher health knowledge is associated with smokers’ decision to quit smoking. Findings also underscore the importance of implementing culturally sensitive tobacco health education to increase awareness of harmful effects from smoking among Chinese smokers.
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