Research

General Information

U.S. Smokers Want to Quit Smoking

The Centers for Disease Control analyzed self-reported data from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) sample and reported that approximately 23.3 percent of adults were current smokers. This represents a decline from 25 percent in 1993. Preliminary data for 2001 indicate a continuing decline in current smoking among adults to 22.8 percent. During 1993–2000, substantial reductions in current smoking prevalence were reported for all age groups, except those aged 18-24 years. According to the 2000 National Health Interview Survey, 70 percent of adult smokers in the United States wanted to quit smoking. In 2000, 41 percent of adult smokers in the United States stopped smoking for at least one day because they were trying to quit. The percentage of ever smokers who had quit was highest for whites at 51 percent and lowest for non-Hispanic blacks at 37.3 percent. The percentage of those who had ever smoked and who had quit ranged from 33.6 percent for those with a GED to 74.4 percent for those with a graduate degree. Nearly half of the ever smokers above the poverty line had quit. Barely a third of ever smokers below the poverty line had similar success in quitting. Only 4.7 percent of those who had quit smoking in past year were able to maintain abstinence from smoking for 3–12 months.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Cigarette smoking among adults – United States, 2000.” MMWR 2002; 51(29): 642-45.