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Among studies made to determine the need for and feasibility of a hospice program at a major university hospital, a survey was made of the hospital professional staff's attitudes towards hospice care. The anonymous questionnaire was distributed in July 1983 to 395 faculty physicians, Department of Medicine house staff, hospital nurses, and clinical social workers. Among the 243 respondents (62% response rate), only 38% felt that current services were "satisfactory," with 90% of respondents indicating that the hospital needs a hospice program.

In this paper we review evidence on smoking and lung cancer among Latinos, including findings from several unpublished studies and technical reports. Recent surveys of smoking behavior in California, Texas, and New Mexico indicate a notable sex difference in smoking among Latinos, with Latino males smoking at least as frequently as White males, while Latino females report smoking rates considerably lower than White females. Our analysis of the 1979 and 1980 National Health Interview Surveys corroborates this finding and also indicates that this pattern holds true for subgroups of the Latino population, including country of origin. Taken together, these findings suggest that among Latino males rates of lung cancer and other cigarette-linked diseases may increase in the near future.