Cozier YC, et al. - Using data from a long-term, prospective, follow-up study, researchers evaluated associations of smoking and alcohol consumption with the risk of incident systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) among black women. In 1995, the Black Women's Health Study enrolled 59,000 black women and gathered data on variables relating to demographics, health status, and medical and lifestyle. A total of 127 cases of SLE incidents were confirmed between 1995 and 2015. The risk of SLE among smokers was high vs never-smokers, though not significantly so. The risk for current and past smoking was similar, and increased with increasing pack-years. The hazard ratio (HR) was 0.71 for current drinking relative to never drinking, with a HR of 0.43 for ≥ 4 drinks/week. Study findings were consistent with earlier results from studies in other populations of increased SLE risk associated with cigarette smoking and decreased risk associated with moderate alcohol use.