Genetic and environmental contributions to initiation of cigarette smoking in young African-American and European-American women

The estimated heritability of smoking initiation is substantial and nearly identical for African-American and European-American women, but the type of environmental factors that contribute to risk differ by race/ethnicity. Whereas the primary environmental influences on European-American women's smoking initiation are at the family level, those that impact African-American women's smoking initiation are primarily individual-specific.