Smoking Restriction Policy Attitudes in a Diverse African American Population

Objective: To determine agreement with policies on cigarette smoking in a socially heterogeneous African American population. Methods: Street and telephone surveys were used to assess agreement with 4 recent smoking restrictive policy activities in Maryland. One urban area (n=885) and one suburban area (n=1081) with were surveyed. Results: Smoking prevalence was 35%. The majority of both smokers and nonsmokers agreed with restricting outdoor advertising, banning smoking in workplaces, fining minors for purchasing cigarettes, and regulation by the Food and Drug Administration. Conclusion: This suggests that African American communities, in spite of tobacco company promotion, are amenable to aggressive tobacco control.