Researchers from USC and the University of Hawaii analyzed lung cancer cases over an eight-year period. After adjusting for diet, education and other factors, the researchers found that Whites who smoked up to a pack a day had a 43 percent to 55 percent lower risk of lung cancer than Blacks who smoked as much. Hispanics and Japanese-Americans were 60 percent to 80 percent less likely than Blacks to develop the disease.
The study found no difference in lung cancer risk among the various ethnic groups for those who smoked more than three packs
a day.
Black, Hispanic and Japanese-American men who never smoked had higher risks of lung cancer than White men, but hardly any difference was seen in women in the same ethnic groups.
According to the American Lung Association, Black men are 50 percent more likely to develop lung cancer and 36 percent more likely to die from the disease than White men.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
