Weight control smoking in Latina and non-Latina white females

We examined whether non-Latina White women would be more likely than Latina women to endorse the belief that smoking helps to control weight, thus contributing to the higher prevalence of smoking in non-Latina Whites. Latina (n = 130) and non-Latina White (n = 114) smokers and nonsmokers completed a measure of weight-control smoking. Results revealed ethnic differences in the belief that smoking helps to control weight [χ²(3) = 29.76; p < .001], with more non-Latina Whites (50%) than Latinas (27%) endorsing this belief [χ²(1) = 8.47; p < .01]. Among non-Latina Whites, comparable proportions of smokers (47%) and nonsmokers (53%) endorsed smoking as a weight-control strategy, but among Latinas, a smaller proportion of smokers (17%) than nonsmokers (83%) endorsed this belief [χ²(1) = 15.11; p < .001]. Higher acculturation was associated marginally with endorsement of smoking as a weight-control strategy (p < .08). Results suggest that weight control appears relatively unimportant to Latina smokers, especially those who are less acculturated. These findings raise questions about the differential determinants of smoking across ethnic groups.