Opinions of African Americans and African American Legislators Toward Tobacco Control Policies

OBJECTIVES: This study examined African Americans' opinions regarding cigarette excise taxes and other tobacco control issues. METHODS: A stratified cluster sample of US congressional districts represented by African Americans was selected. African Americans from 10 districts were interviewed. RESULTS: Forty-seven percent of respondents stated that taxes on tobacco products should be increased, whereas about 30% believed that they should be reduced. Almost 75% disagreed that raising taxes on tobacco products is unfair to African Americans, and 57.9% reported that they would not be opposed to increasing taxes on cigarettes even if low-income smokers would be hit the hardest. CONCLUSIONS: The present results indicate substantial support for cigarette excise taxes among African Americans.

This article analyzes demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral variables that predict African Americans' opinions about state distribution of funds received from the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The sample consisted of 1,000 randomly selected African Americans from 10 U.S. congressional districts represented by African Americans. Descriptive analysis revealed that 38.7% of respondents favored dispersing funds evenly between tobacco control and other state functions, and 63% of respondents favored specifically directing MSA funds to African American communities. Cumulative logit regression analysis showed that age, education, geographic region, and smoking status were significant predictors of opinions about spending MSA funding on antismoking initiatives. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that opinions about targeted MSA funds to African Americans varied by homeownership, views on tobacco excise taxes, the fairness of tobacco taxes to African Americans, and the association between smoking and racism in U.S. society.