Smoking & Drinking
Bangladeshi men have highest smoking rates
Current cigarette smoking: by ethnic group and sex, 1999, England
Bangladeshi men were the most likely group in England to smoke cigarettes (44 per cent in 1999), followed by White Irish (39 per cent) and Black Caribbean men (35 per cent). Men from each of these ethnic groups were more likely to smoke than men in the general population (27 per cent). Chinese men (17 per cent) were the least likely to smoke.
Similar proportions of Pakistani (26 per cent) and Indian (23 per cent) men smoked as in the general population.
Like men, White Irish and Black Caribbean women had the highest smoking rates in 1999 (33 per cent and 25 per cent respectively), although only White Irish women had a rate higher than the general population (27 per cent). However, unlike men, women in every other minority ethnic group were much less likely to smoke than women in the general population.
Patterns of cigarette smoking among the different ethnic groups remained the same after allowing for differences in their age structures.
Although very few Bangladeshi women smoked cigarettes, a relatively large proportion (26 per cent) chewed tobacco. This method of using tobacco was also popular among Bangladeshi men (19 per cent), but they tended to use it in conjunction with cigarettes.
In the general population, men and women were equally likely to be smokers. However, among minority ethnic groups women were less likely to smoke than men. The sex difference was particularly marked among the Bangladeshi group.
Smoking behaviour is strongly related to a person's socio-economic class. People from lower socio-economic classes are more likely to smoke than those from higher classes.
Part of the pattern of smoking among the different ethnic groups is explained by the socio-economic differences among the groups. For example, Bangladeshi men were over represented in the lowest socio-economic class (semi-routine or routine occupations), and these men also had the highest rates of smoking.
Adults drinking above recommended daily alcohol guidelines: by ethnic group and sex, 1999, England
Drinking
White Irish men and women were more likely than any other ethnic group to drink in excess of government recommended guidelines. Current guidelines are no more than 3 to 4 units per day for men and 2 to 3 units per day for women. Fifty eight per cent of men and 37 per cent of women from a White Irish background drank in excess of the recommended daily levels on their heaviest drinking day in the week before interview in 1999. All other minority ethnic groups were much less likely than the general population to have consumed alcohol in excess of the daily guidelines.
After the White Irish, Black Caribbeans were most likely to drink above the guidelines. Twenty seven per cent of Black Caribbean men and 17 per cent of Black Caribbean women did so.
Less than 10 per cent of men and women from the Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese groups drank more than these recommended amounts on their heaviest drinking day. Very few Indian women exceeded the guidelines (5 per cent) but 22 per cent of Indian men drank above this level.
Source: The Health of Minority Ethnic Groups, Health Survey for England 1999, TSO (London 2001)
Notes:
Age-standardised rates allow comparisons between populations with different age structures. The method used here is direct standardisation using the European Standard Population.
The Health Survey for England report compares minority ethnic groups drawn from special boost samples with the general population. The sample for the general population was drawn using standard random sampling techniques. It should be noted that the minority ethnic group samples analysed in the HSE report and on this web page included not only those in the boost samples but those found within the general population sample. The latter grouped were included both within the general population and within the minority ethnic group samples, appropriate weights being applied to equalise selection probabilities.
printer-friendly
Population