Smoking and alcohol consumption in a UK Chinese population M White 1 *, JOE Harland 1 , RS Bhopal 1 , N Unwin 1,2,3 and KGMM Alberti 2,3 1 Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; 2 Department of Medicine, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; and 3 Human Diabetes and Metabolism Research Centre, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK Little research has been conducted on health in Chinese communities in the UK and there are few representative data on smoking, alcohol consumption or other aspects of lifestyle. We undertook a cross sectional population-based study of 380 Chinese and 625 European men and women aged 25 to 64 y, using self-completion and interview questionnaires in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK between 1991 and 1995. We measured self-reported prevalence of cigarette smoking, number of cigarettes smoked per week and age at starting smoking; self-reported prevalence of alcohol consumption and units of alcohol consumed per week. In age-adjusted comparisons smoking was less common in Chinese (24%) than European men (35%) (P  0.00002) and among Chinese (1%) compared with European women (33%) (P < 0.00001). Number of cigarettes smoked was similar among Chinese and European male smokers. Median age at starting smoking was higher among Chinese (18.5 y) compared with European men (15y) (P  0.00001). Smoking was commonest in older Chinese and in younger Europeans. The prevalence of alcohol consumption was lower among Chinese (63%) than European men (93%) (P < 0.00001) and among Chinese (29%) compared to European women (89%) (P < 0.00001). Median alcohol consumption was signi®cantly lower among Chinese (2 units=week) than European men (16 units=week) (P < 0.00001), and among Chinese (1 unit=week) compared to European women (6 units=week) (P < 0.00001). Among those who drank alcohol, Chinese men were less likely to drink above recommended limits than European men (1% vs 39%; P < 0.00001). Chinese men and women currently have relatively favourable patterns of smoking compared to European adults in Newcastle. Average alcohol consumption among Chinese who drink is lower than among Europeans, and a substantial proportion of the Chinese population in Newcastle drink no alcohol. Patterns of health related behaviour should be tracked over time in ethnic minority populations to identify changes that pose risk to health and which deserve appropriate intervention. Public Health (2001) 115, 62±69. Keywords: Chinese adults; alcohol consumption; smoking Introduction The Chinese are a substantial ethnic minority in the UK yet, in comparison with South Asian and Afrocaribbean popu- lations, there has been little research on their health needs and health status. 1,2 In particular, there are few data from representative UK Chinese populations on tobacco and alcohol consumption. Knowledge of patterns of smoking and alcohol consumption among the UK Chinese popula- tion is necessary to help assess the need for preventive interventions, plan services and study the epidemiology of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and cancers. Relatively little is known about the patterns of these diseases in the Chinese in the UK. For example, the most recent analysis of mortality among ethnic minority groups did not include the Chinese, as the numbers were too small to permit reliable estimates. 3 Our own study of the Chinese in Newcastle has shown the prevalence of coronary heart disease and diabetes to be relatively low among the Chinese. 4,5 This paper presents data on smoking and alcohol consumption among the Chinese in Newcastle, in comparison with the local European population. Methods Identi®cation and recruitment of subjects The methods of identi®cation and recruitment of subjects have been described in detail in previous reports, 4±6 but are summarised here. *Correspondence: M White, Senior Lecturer in Public Health, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, School of Health Sciences, The Medical School, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK. Tel:  44 191 222 6275; Fax:  44 191 222 8211; E-mail: martin.white@ncl.ac.uk Accepted 3 October 2000 Public Health (2001) 115, 62±69 ß R.I.P.H.H. 2001 www.nature.com/ph