Establishing baseline information on cigarette smoking behavior from ethnic-specific groups of Asian American and Pacific Islander youth in Seattle, Washington, 1996-1998.

OBJECTIVES: To gather baseline impressionistic data from Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) teens about their tobacco cigarette smoking behaviors.
METHODS: Twenty six separate focus group interview sessions consisting of youth age 12-19 years, 49% female, and of mixed self-reported smoking status (N=190) were conducted over a three-year period from 1996-1999. Gender stratified groups of Samoans, Mien, Vietnamese, Filipino, Laotian, Chinese, and Cambodians were interviewed employing focus groups.
FINDINGS: Content analysis of more than 900 pages of transcripts revealed themes suggesting that, overall, parental authority loomed central in the control of youths' smoking; keen awareness and cynicism of media's role in the proliferation of tobacco products existed; and generally, tobacco regulation was thought needed to protect the health of the more vulnerable members of society.
CONCLUSIONS: The diversity within the broad AAPI category must be respected. This qualitative group interview approach uncovered general hypotheses for further cultural-specific research.