A report on tobacco use by the California Department of Health Services found that while smoking has decreased overall in the state, it remains more popular among certain subpopulations. For example, about a quarter of Korean men smoked, while only about half of Korean households are smoke-free -- rates far higher than state averages.

The overall smoking rate among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals was 30.4 percent, about twice the rate among the general population. Smoking among the military was also higher than average, with Marines being the heaviest smokers: about 27 percent of Marines smoked.

Stress was cited as the reason that gays and soldiers smoked more than others; many gays start smoking as teens as a way to cope with the trauma of "coming out," while soldiers often smoke to help deal with the stress of combat.

On the other hand, Asian Indians were far less likely to smoke than the general population: just 5.5 percent smoked, although second-generation Asian Indians were more likely to smoke than their parents. Smoking also was less prevalent among Chinese Americans.

Researchers designed the study to get a clearer picture of smoking among subpopulations that generally do not get much attention.

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