Smokers' baseline characteristics in the COMMIT trial

Baseline telephone survey data from 10 COMMIT sites were submitted to statistical analyses to compare the smoking characteristics of non-Hispanic white (white), non-Hispanic black (black), Mexican-origin (Mexican), and Puerto Rican-origin (Puerto Rican) smokers.

White men and women were more likely to be classified as "heavy smokers" than members of other racial/ethnic groups, although black and Puerto Rican smokers were more likely than whites to increase their smoking rates on weekends. Whites were less likely to report stopping smoking in the past. White and Mexican smokers were most likely to smoke light or ultralight brands and least likely to smoke menthol cigarettes. Blacks were most likely to report smoking their first cigarette of the day within 10 min of waking.

The differences and similarities among different groups of smokers may have important implications for understanding patterns of tobacco-related disease in smokers from different racial/ethnic and sex groups.