Examining Racial/Ethnic and Income Disparities on Tobacco Product Use Among US Adults Within Wave 5 of the PATH Study

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to examine the interactions between race/ethnicity and income across different types of tobacco products. Methods The prevalence of past 30-day use of cigarettes, traditional cigars, cigarillos, filtered little cigars, and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) among adults was examined by race/ethnicity and income levels based on wave 5 (2018–2019) data of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study. Results Multivariate analysis across race/ethnicity and income showed that, although non-Hispanic Blacks (NHBs) were significantly more than likely to smoke cigarettes than non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs) at low- and high-income levels, such disparity only applied to low-income Hispanics compared with low-income NHWs. NHBs were significantly more likely to smoke traditional cigars, cigarillos, and filtered little cigars than NHWs at low and high incomes. No differences were found between Hispanics and NHWs with regard to traditional cigars and cigarillos. However, low-income Hispanics were significantly less likely to smoke filtered little cigars than NHWs, whereas high-income Hispanics were more likely to do so than NHWs. With regard to ENDS, significant differences were only found at the low-income bracket with NHBs and Hispanics being less likely to smoke these products than NHWs. Conclusions Our findings highlight significant interactions between race/ethnicity and income in the use of tobacco products, suggesting that income should be taken into account when designing interventions targeting different racial/ethnic groups.