The importance of using such methods and of disaggregating data by ethnic subgroup is reflected in the wide disparity (Figure 1) between the smoking prevalence among Vietnamese American men in our study (25%) versus general California men (16.5%; M. Modayil, Ph.D., personal communication, May 13, 2009, regarding unpublished results from the 2008 selleckchem California Adult Tobacco Survey) and California Asian/Pacific Islander (English speaking only) men (14.9%; Al-Delaimy et al., 2008). Similarly, the importance of disaggregating smoking prevalence by gender is reflected in our study��s low smoking prevalence among Vietnamese American female population (1%) compared with the general California female population (10.6%; M. Modayil, Ph.D.

, personal communication, May 13, 2009, regarding unpublished results from the 2008 California Adult Tobacco Survey) and California Asian/Pacific Islander (English speaking only) females (5.3%; Al-Delaimy et al.). This study highlights the importance of survey sampling methods appropriate to the population, such as using the Vietnamese surname list and using the appropriate language (English and Vietnamese) as determined by the individual respondent. Figure 1. Comparison of smoking status for California Vietnamese male respondents, California Vietnamese Adult Tobacco Use Survey, 2008, and the California general male population (M. Modayil, Ph.D., personal communication, May 13, 2009, regarding unpublished results … Our study��s estimates for Vietnamese male smoking prevalence are consistent with other recent estimates for California (California Health Interview Survey, 2009; Nguyen et al.

, 2009; Tang, Shimizu, & Chen, 2005) and may be more accurate, given our study��s larger statewide sample size (four times the number of Vietnamese Brefeldin_A adults than the California Health Interview Survey). The fact that studies in other states report higher Vietnamese male smoking prevalence rates (Chae, Gavin, & Takeuchi, 2006; Chan et al., 2007; Wiecha et al., 1998) may be due to several factors. California has one of the oldest tobacco control programs that includes in-language Asian media outreach and cessation services (Tang et al.). Additionally, the VCHPP began Vietnamese smoking cessation interventions during the 1990s (Jenkins, McPhee, et al., 1997; Lai et al., 2000; McPhee et al., 1995). One possible explanation for why the California Vietnamese male smoking prevalence rate has decreased but remains persistently higher than for men in the general California population is the continuing influx of new immigrants from Vietnam, where male smoking prevalence rates are much higher. About 12% of Vietnamese immigrants entered the United States in 2000 or later (Ponce et al., 2009).