Native youth and smokeless tobacco: prevalence rates, gender differences, and descriptive characteristics.

This is a report on smokeless tobacco use among Native American youth from Indian reservations in Washington State. Study findings indicate that snuff and chewing tobacco are used frequently, heavily, and at an early age by Native Americans. Nearly one-half of our subjects had used smokeless tobacco on 11 to 20 or more occasions; close to one-third of all the females had used smokeless tobacco on more than 20 occasions. Weekly users in this study were young. Of those Native subjects who used snuff or chewing tobacco weekly, 72% were under 12 years of age. Among youth who reported weekly smokeless tobacco use, about 74% of all females and 90% of all males had first used snuff or chewing tobacco before they were 10 years old. Study results have implications for efforts toward detection, treatment, and prevention of snuff and chewing tobacco use among Native American adolescents.