Smoking & minorities - extinguishing the fire.

The saying goes, "Where there's smoke, there's fire." And there's a lot of both in the form of anti-smoking movements as they try to put out the fires of cigarette smoke in minority communities--particularly in the African-American community. The four generally recognized minority groups in the United States are African-Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Latinos, and Native Americans.

African-Americans are currently the largest minority group in the United States. However, mortality rates of Blacks are higher than those of the other three minority groups and of Whites, according to a report compiled by a task force on the health status of minorities in the United States. And tobacco use has been identified as the most preventable cause of mortality in America.

"Smoking is the number one preventable condition that leads to lung cancer, heart disease, and hypertension," says Denise Adams-Simms, director of the Smoking Attitude Project, of the California Black Health Network. The project seeks to better inform the African-American community of the dangers of smoking cigarettes and of being exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke.

Until recently Blacks smoked at a significantly higher rate than Whites, up to 8 percentage points higher. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recent reports show smoking levels for Blacks and

Whites to be about the same (26.2% compared with 25.8%). The decline may be due to antismoking efforts such as the Smoking Attitude Project. No doubt, it's one of the reasons the Black community remains a prime target of tobacco companies.

Billboards. Heavy billboard advertising of tobacco products is considered to be one of the leading culprits in influencing the smoking habits of the African-American community. According to Simms, up to 75 percent of billboard advertising for tobacco and alcohol, as oppose to 30 to 40 percent of the same kind of advertising in White communities.

"The tobacco industry has bought legitimacy in our community. We do know that our community is being targeted," Simms states emphatically. Other methods of special marketing include tobacco companies supporting cultural events and placing advertisements in ethnic publications. An example is Philip Morris' "free speech" ads featuring prominent African-Americans. Also, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Urban League, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the National Association of Negro Business Women, and the National Black Police Association have received thousands of dollars from Philip Morris.

But communities are not taking this treatment without firing back. Ever since R.J. Reynolds planned its introduction of Uptown, a brand of cigarettes that admittedly was targeted toward Blacks, anti-smoking activists have watered down the marketing strategies by successfully lobbying and banding together to publicly declare their communities off limits to such market tests.

The U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services publicly criticized R.J. Reynolds in 1992 for its plans to introduce the new brand. He then went a step further and asked the tobacco company to stop advertising its Camel cigarettes through the Old Joe Camel cartoon figure, because children are attracted to the advertisement.

Not only do tobacco companies have a greater number of billboards in Black communities, but also the type of cigarettes advertised are oftentimes high-tar, high-nicotine, and high-menthol brands.

Scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency have stated that passive smoking is much more harmful than once assumed. And a recent study reported that household exposure to 25 or more smoker years in childhood and adolescence doubles the risk of lung cancer. Smoker years are determined by multiplying the number of smokers in the household by the number of years the children have lived in the household.

Children who never smoke--voluntarily-are oftentimes the most innocent victims of others' cigarette smoke. For this cause alone, medical and health professionals as well as smoke-free advocates strongly urge parents to kick the nicotine habit.

"Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke have higher incidents of asthma and bronchial disease. So parents ought to stop smoking for their children," Simms advises. "They make their children's lives more difficult with sickness, and life for them is already difficult enough," she adds.

Yet even in the face of evidence, many minorities, as well as Whites, still choose to smoke. "So many people say smoking is a personal choice. But, then, using heroin is a personal choice, too. But we try to help people not to use heroin," says Simms.

To add fuel to the fire, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has defended the tobacco industry's right to target specific market segments. Appearing before the House Subcommittee on Transportation and Hazardous Materials, the ANA argued that banning targeted marketing is censorship and violated the First Amendment.

Pro-health messages. Throughout the country, communities are banding together to pool resources and to strengthen their local voice to send strong pro-health messages to minority groups that are targeted by tobacco advertising campaigns.

In the Smoking Attitude Project, headed by Simms, one of the goals is to educate African-Americans about the hazards of smoking, with hopes that it will empower people to take control of their own lives. "Don't wait until someone tells you to stop smoking" is one of Simms' messages

Although a movement is afoot at the grass-roots level, one of the biggest stumbling blocks is finding funding for prevention or smoking cessation in minority communities. If funds are available under a general umbrella of smoking cessation programs, the application process for state contracts can be not only lengthy but fairly complex. This may prevent some minority interest groups from applying for funds that may be available in their state.

What you can do. Since 25-30 percent of Americans still smoke, you can become a committee of one in taking precautions against being exposed to secondhand smoke. Begin in your home, if there is a smoker. Establish smoke-free areas,

which would be highly beneficial--especially to children.

Most workplaces today provide a smoke-free environment, forcing smokers to exit the building if they choose to smoke. Some employers may be receptive to beginning an incentive program, rewarding employees for kicking the habit.

On a community level, many ideas and suggestions are available through the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society. The city of San Juan Capistrano, Calff-ornia, for example, is considering requiring all restaurants to be 100 percent nonsmoking. In October of 1991 the city council voted to require eating establishments with seating for 50 or more to allocate 75 percent of the seating for nonsmokers.

A local task force, with broad representation from the community, can add a bit of clout to local efforts to counter tobacco use in African-American communities. Each representative of the task force can then return to his or her own circle of influence and disseminate pro-health messages.

As another saying goes, "To be forewarned is to be forearmed." You may be able to sound the alarm and rally support in your community to extinguish the deadly fire of cigarette smoke.

Willie Mae P. Clark writes from San Diego, California.