[영문]The prevalence of tobacco use among urban African American persons aged 18 to 24 years not enrolled in college is alarmingly high and a challenge for smoking cessation initiatives. Recent data from inner-city neighborhoods in Baltimore, Md, indicate that more than 60% of young adults smoke cigarettes. We sought to describe community-level factors contributing to this problem. Data from focus groups and surveys indicate that the sale and acquisition of qqqquot;loosiesqqqquot; are ubiquitous and normative and may contribute to the high usage and low cessation rates.