National Household Survey on Drug Abuse How Youths Get Cigarettes Report
November 22, 2002

How Youths Get Cigarettes

In Brief

In 2001, over 3 million youths aged 12 to 17 had smoked cigarettes during the past month

About three fifths of past month smokers aged 12 to 17 had a friend or relative buy cigarettes for them at least one time during the past month

Among youths who smoked during the past month, females were more likely than males to have friends or relatives buy cigarettes for them during the past month

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) asks respondents aged 12 or older to report whether they smoked cigarettes during the month before the survey interview. Youths aged 12 to 17 who reported past month smoking were asked about how they got their cigarettes during this time period.¹

Past Month Cigarette Use among Youths

In 2001, over 3 million youths aged 12 to 17 (13 percent) had smoked cigarettes during the past month. Youths aged 12 or 13 were less likely to have smoked cigarettes during the past month than those aged 14 to 17 (Figure 1). Females aged 12 to 17 were more likely to have smoked cigarettes during the past month (14 percent) than males (12 percent). American Indian/Alaska Native youths (29 percent) were more likely to have smoked cigarettes during the past month than white (15 percent), Hispanic (10 percent), Asian (7 percent), or black youths (7 percent).

Figure 1. Percentages of Youths Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Past Month Cigarette Use, by Age Group: 2001

Table 1. Percentages of Past Month Cigarette Smokers Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Source of Their Cigarettes During the Past Month:* 2001

Common Sources of Cigarettes

In 2001, about three fifths (62 percent) of past month smokers aged 12 to 17 had a friend or relative buy cigarettes for them at least one time during the past month (Table 1). Even though this rate was significantly lower than the rate in 2000 (Figure 2), this was still the predominant method of cigarette access among youths in 2001.

Although it is illegal in the United States to sell tobacco to underaged youths, in 2001 almost 2 million youths aged 12 to 17 who smoked cigarettes in the past month purchased them personally during the same time period. The proportion of past month youth smokers who bought their own cigarettes during the past month fell from 59 percent in 2000 to 52 percent in 2001. The proportion of past month smokers aged 12 to 17 who bought cigarettes at a store where a clerk handed out cigarettes fell from 34 percent in 2000 to 29 percent in 2001. This decline was largely attributable to youth smokers aged 14 to 17. In 2001, approximately 28 percent of past month smokers aged 12 to 17 bought cigarettes at small stores, convenience stores, or gas stations, and 28 percent bought them from a friend, relative, or someone at school. The percentage of past month youth smokers reporting no cigarette purchase (either through friends or relatives or by themselves) during the past month increased from 19 percent in 2000 to 25 percent in 2001.

Demographic Differences

Among youths who smoked during the past month, older youths were more likely than younger ones to obtain cigarettes through a purchase (either through friends or relatives or by themselves) during the same time period (Table 2). Among youths, females who smoked during the past month were more likely than their male peers to have friends or relatives buy cigarettes for them during the past month (68 percent of females vs. 55 percent of males), but the percentages of past month smokers who bought their own cigarettes during the past month were similar among males and females (52 percent). Among past month smokers, white youths were more likely than black or Hispanic youths to have a friend or relative buy cigarettes for them during the past month; however, the percentages of past month smokers aged 12 to 17 who bought cigarettes on their own during this time period were similar among white, black, and Hispanic youths (Figure 3).

Figure 2. Percentages of Past Month Cigarette Smokers Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Source of Their Cigarettes During the Past Month:* 2000 and 2001

Table 2. Percentages and Standard Errors of Percentages of Past Month Cigarette Smokers Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Source of Their Cigarettes During the Past Month,* by Age Group: 2001

Figure 2. Percentages of Past Month Cigarette Smokers Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Source of Their Cigarettes During the Past Month:* 2000 and 2001 Table 2. Percentages and Standard Errors of Percentages of Past Month Cigarette Smokers Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Source of Their Cigarettes During the Past Month,* by Age Group: 2001

Figure 3. Percentages of Past Month Cigarette Smokers Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Source of Their Cigarettes During the Past Month,* by Race/Ethnicity:** 2001

End Note

Response options were as follows: A friend or relative bought cigarettes for youth; youth bought cigarettes from a vending machine; youth bought cigarettes through the mail; youth bought cigarettes in a store where the youth picked up the pack or carton and brought it to the check–out counter; youth bought cigarettes in a store where the clerk had to hand youth the pack or carton; youth bought cigarettes through the Internet; youth bought cigarettes at a big supermarket; youth bought cigarettes at a drug store; youth bought cigarettes at a small grocery store, a convenience store, or at a gas station; and youth bought cigarettes from an individual, such as a friend, a relative, or someone at school. The response categories were not mutually exclusive, and youths could provide more than one response.

Figure and Table Notes

* Past month cigarette smokers aged 12 to 17 were asked whether a friend or relative had bought cigarettes for them and if they personally had bought cigarettes during the past month from a variety of sources. Respondents were asked whether they had obtained cigarettes one or more times from each of these sources; thus, the response categories are not mutually exclusive. Respondents were not asked about other sources from which they might have obtained cigarettes

**Small sample sizes prevented analyses of American Indians/Alaska Natives or Asians.

Source (Figure 2): SAMHSA 2000 and 2001 NHSDAs.

Source (other tables and figures): SAMHSA 2001 NHSDA.

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) is an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The 2000 and 2001 data are based on information obtained from 141,000 persons aged 12 or older (approximately 70,000 each year), including more than 48,000 youths aged 12 to 17 (approximately 24,000 each year). The survey collects data by administering questionnaires to a representative sample of the population through face–to–face interviews at their place of residence.
The NHSDA Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS), SAMHSA, and by RTI in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Information and data for this issue are based on the following publication and statistics:

Office of Applied Studies. (2001). Summary of findings from the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (DHHS Publication No. SMA 01–3549, NHSDA Series: H–13). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Office of Applied Studies. (2002). Results from the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Volume I. Summary of national findings (DHHS Publication No. SMA 02–3758, NHSDA Series H–17). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Also available on–line: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/nhsda.htm.

Additional tables available on request.

The NHSDA Report is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of this fact sheet may be downloaded from http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/facts.cfm. Citation of the source is appreciated.
Other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are also available on-line on the OAS home page: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov

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Figure 1. Percentages of Youths Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Past Month Cigarette Use, by Age Group: 2001	*Table 1. Percentages of Past Month Cigarette Smokers Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Source of Their Cigarettes During the Past Month: 2001**

*Figure 2. Percentages of Past Month Cigarette Smokers Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Source of Their Cigarettes During the Past Month: 2000 and 2001**	*Table 2. Percentages and Standard Errors of Percentages of Past Month Cigarette Smokers Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Source of Their Cigarettes During the Past Month, by Age Group: 2001**