Community leader support for tobacco control activities & policies on Guam.

OBJECTIVES: Guam has the highest smoking rate in the United States. This study examined Guam community leaders' attitudes toward cigarette smoking and their interest in changing local tobacco control policies. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Guam community leaders completed surveys while attending local professional conferences or meetings. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-three percent of the respondents were female; the mean age was 46 years (SD = 15), and over 86% were from ethnic minority groups (47% Filipino, 28% Chamorro, 10% Asian, 2% other Pacific Island groups). About 30% reported being native Guamanian, and of those who immigrated to Guam had lived on Guam a mean of 17 years (SD = 11). OUTCOMES: Tobacco use was rated as a serious problem for Guam by 73% of the leaders surveyed, and a majority agreed that stricter tobacco control policies were needed on Guam. RESULTS: When asked to rate their preferences for tobacco control efforts on Guam, most (63%) preferred to focus on cessation efforts and 55% wanted to focus on smoke-free public places. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided critical insight about community leader support for stronger tobacco control measures on Guam, especially with respect to smoking cessation and smoke-free environments. Such a consensus of opinions could become a catalyst to promote community-wide tobacco control policies and programs. In addition, this study may provide a platform for future research on the structure and effectiveness of community leader support in a multicultural environment.

Physical activity and nutritional status of adolescents on Guam.

The 1999 Safe & Drug Free Schools and Communities Youth Risk Behavior Study collected data from representative samples of both high school (n=590) and middle school students (n=643) on Guam in May, 1999. Results showed that the dietary and exercise habits of Guam's adolescents were sub-optimal. Out of the 643 middle school students surveyed, 26% consumed at least 3 meals per week at a fast food restaurant and 53.3% consumed at least 2 cans of sweetened soda per day. Guam adolescents had a very low intake of fruits and vegetables. As many as 75.3% of high school students reported consuming fruits and vegetables less than once a day. Students who practiced unsafe weight loss practices were significantly more likely to smoke cigarettes, and use illegal drugs. In addition, 26.9% of adolescents surveyed were considered 'overweight'--similar to the prevalence of overweight reported among U.S. Mainland adolescents. Finally, data from survey showed that adolescents on Guam spent more time watching television and less time performing various physical activities than adolescents in the U.S. mainland. These suboptimal practices put Guam's adolescents at increased risk for immediate and long-term health problems.