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Cigarette Smoking
Among
AdultsUnited States, 1994
The July 12, 1996, issue of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
(MMWR)
contains the article, "Cigarette Smoking Among Adults-United States, 1994."
To determine the smoking status of
adults, the Year 2000 Health Objectives Supplement of the 1994 National Health Interview
Survey was used. The National Health Interview Survey shows that the prevalence of
cigarette smoking among adults 18 years and older remained statistically the same in 1994
(25.5%) as in 1993 (25.0%). This is the first time in over a decade that there has not
been an annual decrease in adult smoking prevalence. The smoking prevalence observed among
18-24 year olds in 1994 was 27.5% and in 1993 was 25.8%. An estimated 33.2 million (69.3%)
adults who smoked wanted to quit completely. Nicotine addiction is the underlying cause
for smokers' difficulty or inability to quit.
The study also found the following:
- Between 1993 and 1994, the prevalence of smoking remained statistically the
same for all ethnic, age, and gender groups. Smoking prevalence rates were highest among
American Indians/Alaskan Natives (42.2%) and lowest among Asians/Pacific Islanders
(13.9%).
- An estimated 48 million U.S. adults (25.5%) currently smoke (25.3 million men
and 22.7 million women). Of current adult smokers, 82% were every-day smokers, and 18%
were some-day smokers.
- Forty-six million adults were former smokers, a number which remains
unchanged from 1993. Both in 1993 and 1994, nearly 70% of current smokers reported that
they wanted to quit smoking completely. Of current every-day adult smokers in 1994, 18.1
million (46.4%) had stopped smoking for at least one day during the last year.
Entire Article in Portable Document Format
(PDF-174K)
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