Frances A. Stillman ^1*, Lee Bone ¹, Erika Avila-Tang ¹, Katherine Smith ², Norman Yancey ³, Calvin Street ⁴, Kerry Owings ⁵

¹ Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
² Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
³ Urban Youth Corps
⁴ Historic East Baltimore Youth Opportunities
⁵ Westside Youth Opportunity Community Center

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: fstillma{at}jhsph.edu.

	Abstract

The prevalence of tobacco use among urban African American persons aged 18 to 24 years not enrolled in college is alarmingly high and a challenge for smoking cessation initiatives. Recent data from inner-city neighborhoods in Baltimore, Md, indicate that more than 60% of young adults smoke cigarettes. We sought to describe community-level factors contributing to this problem. Data from focus groups and surveys indicate that the sale and acquisition of "loosies" are ubiquitous and normative and may contribute to the high usage and low cessation rates.

Key Words: Community Health, African Americans/Blacks, Smoking Cessation, Tobacco Control

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