African American Communities Experience a Health Burden From Commercial Tobacco

At a glance

  • In 2020, 19.4% of non-Hispanic Black adults currently used any tobacco product.
  • African American people are more likely to die from smoking-related diseases than Hispanic people and Non-Hispanic, White people.
A group of African American men in a barbershop.

Overview

Commercial tobacco gets in the way of achieving health equity for African American people:A

  • In 2020, 19.4% of non-Hispanic Black adults currently used any tobacco product.1
  • In 2024, an estimated 10% of non-Hispanic Black youth currently used any tobacco product, compared with 7.8% of non-Hispanic White youth.2 An estimated 2.2% of non-Hispanic Black youth currently used cigars, compared with 0.9% of non-Hispanic White youth.2
  • African American people usually start smoking at an older age than White people do but are more likely to die from smoking-related disease.34
  • About the same percent of African American adults and White adults smoke, but African American people smoke fewer cigarettes per day.34
A heartbeat and a cigarette
African American people experience more serious health effects from smoking than other racial and ethnic groups.

Despite starting to smoke cigarettes later in life, African American people are more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to have related health problems.

African American people are more likely to die from smoking-related diseases (e.g. heart disease, diabetes) than Hispanic people and Non-Hispanic, White people.345

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Content Source:
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; Office on Smoking and Health
  1. "Commercial tobacco" means harmful products that are made and sold by tobacco companies. It does not include "traditional tobacco" used by Indigenous groups for religious or ceremonial purposes.
  1. Cornelius ME, Loretan CG, Wang TW, Jamal A, Homa DM. Tobacco Product Use Among Adults — United States, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2022;71(11):397–405.
  2. Jamal A, Park-Lee, E, Birdsey J, et al. Tobacco product use among middle and high school students — National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2024;73(41):917–924.
  3. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services. Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups—African Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services; 1998. Accessed January 19, 2021. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/13237
  4. Schoenborn CA, Adams PF, Peregoy JA. Health behaviors of adults: United States, 2008–2010. Vital Health Stat 10. 2013;257:1–184.
  5. Robinson RG, Barry M, Bloch M, et al. Report of the Tobacco Policy Research Group on marketing and promotions targeted at African Americans, Latinos, and women. Tob Control. 1992;1(Suppl 1):S24–S30.