Latest Data
Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going
Over the past decade, the current cigarette smoking rate decreased by 15.9% among adults aged 18 years and over, from 22.6% (age adjusted) in 2001 to 19.0% in 2011. However, the rate of decrease has slowed considerably compared to prior decades. The rate of cigarette use in the last 30 days among students in grades 9–12 decreased by 36.5% from 28.5% in 2001 to 18.1% in 2011.
Leading Health Indicators
Explore the latest data and disparities for each indicator.
Current Cigarette Smokers—adults (TU-1.1)
Cigarette use in the past 30 days—students grades 9–12 (TU-2.2)
Current Cigarette Smokers—adults (TU-1.1)
- Healthy People 2020 objective TU-1.1 tracks the proportion of adults who are current cigarette smokers.
- HP2020 Baseline: In 2008, 20.6% of adults aged 18 years and older were current cigarette smokers (age adjusted).
- HP2020 Target: 12.0%, (retained from HP2010) a 41.7 percent improvement over the baseline.
- The percentage of adults aged 18 years and over who were current cigarette smokers decreased 15.9% between 2001 and 2011, from 22.6% to 19.0% (age adjusted). However, declines in current cigarette smoking among adults have slowed significantly compared to the steep declines seen from the 1960s to 1990’s.
In 2011, among adults aged 18 years and older:
- Asian adults had the lowest rate of current cigarette smoking among racial and ethnic groups at 9.6% of adults aged 18 years and over (age adjusted). The rate for the Hispanic or Latino population (12.4%) was nearly one and a half times the rate for Asians, while rates for other racial and ethnicity groups were approximately 2 times to nearly 3 times the rate for Asians. The rate for the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander population was statistically unreliable. Rates for other racial and ethnicity groups were (age adjusted):
- American Indian or Alaska Native: 26.8%
- Two or more races: 24.4%
- Black or African American, not Hispanic: 19.1%
- White, not Hispanic: 21.2%
- Adult males had a higher rate of current smoking than adult females in 2011 (21.2% vs. 16.8%, age adjusted).
- Adults living in families with family incomes at 600% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) or higher had the lowest rate of current cigarette smoking at 9.4% (age adjusted). Rates of current smoking for all other family income levels were more than one and a half times the rate for those with family incomes at 600% of the FPL or higher. Rates for current smoking for other family income levels were (age adjusted):
- 400-599%: 14.7%
- 200-399%: 20.3%
- 100-199%: 24.7%
- <100%: 29.4%
- Adults born outside of the United States had a lower rate of current cigarette smoking than adults born in the US (10.3% vs. 20.9%, age adjusted).
- Adults without activity limitations had a lower rate of current cigarette smoking than adults with activity limitations (17.3% vs. 29.8%, age adjusted)
- Adults who live in metropolitan areas had a lower rate of current cigarette smoking than adults living in non-metropolitan areas (17.7% vs. 26.3%, age adjusted)
Also in 2011:
- Among broad age groups, adults aged 65 years and older has the lowest rates of current smoking at 7.9% in 2011. Rates for age groups 18–44 and 45–64 were more than one and half times as high at 21.2% and 21.4%.
- Among education groups, adults aged 25 years and older with an advanced degree has the lowest rate of current cigarette smoking at 5.0% (age adjusted). Rates of current cigarette smoking for other levels of educational attainment ranged from nearly two times to nearly five and a half times as high. Rates for the other levels of educational attainment were (age adjusted):
- 4-year college degree: 8.9%
- Associates degree:18.6%
- Some college: 22.0%
- High school: 27.4%
- Less than high school: 27.2%
- Adults aged 18–64 with private health insurance had the lowest rate of current cigarette smoking (15.6%, age adjusted) compared to adults with public or no health insurance (32.2% and 31.6%, age adjusted, respectively). The rates of current cigarette smoking for adults with public or no insurance were at least twice as high as those with private health.
Endnotes:
- All disparities described are statistically significant at the 0.05 level of significance.
- Data (except those by education, health insurance, and age group) are age adjusted to the 2000 standard population using the age groups 18–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–64, and 65 years and over. Data by education are adjusted using the age groups 25–34, 35–44, 45–64, 65 years and over.
- Data by health insurance coverage are adjusted using the age groups 18–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64. Data by age group are not age adjusted. Age-adjusted rates are weighted sums of age-specific rates.
- Current cigarette smokers are defined as persons who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and now report smoking cigarettes everyday or some days.
- Data for this measure are available annually and come from the National Health Interview Survey, CDC/NCHS.
- The terms “Hispanic or Latino” and “Hispanic” are used interchangeably in this report.
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Cigarette use in the past 30 days—students grades 9–12 (TU-2.2)
- Healthy People 2020 objective TU-2.2 tracks the proportion of students in grades 9-12 who smoked cigarettes in the last 30 days.
- HP2020 Baseline: In 2009, 19.5% of students in grades 9–12 smoked cigarettes in the last 30 days.
- HP2020 Target: 16.0%, (retained from HP2010) a 17.9 percent improvement over the baseline.
- The percentage of students in grades 9–12 who smoked cigarettes in the last 30 days decreased 36.5% between 2001 to 2011, from 28.5% to 18.1%.
In 2011, among students in grades 9–12:
- Asian students had the lowest rate of cigarette use in the past 30 days among racial and ethnic groups at 9.3%. The rate for the black or African American, non-Hispanic population (10.5%) was not significantly different from the rate for the Asian population. Rates for all other racial and ethnicity groups were approximately 2 to 2.5 times as high:
- American Indian or Alaska Native: 23.1%
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: 23.0
- Two or more races: 18.3%
- Hispanic or Latino: 17.5%
- White, not Hispanic: 20.3%
- Male students had a higher rate of cigarette use in the last 30 days than females (19.9% vs. 16.1%).
- Students in 9th grade had the lowest rate of cigarette use in the last month (13.0%).
- The rate for 10th grade students was 15.6%.
- The rate for 11th grade students was 19.3%, about one and a half times as high as the rate for 9th grade students.
- The rate for 12th grade students was 25.1%, nearly 2 times as high as the rate for 9th grade students.
Endnotes:
- All disparities described are statistically significant at the 0.05 level of significance, unless otherwise stated.
- Students are classified as using cigarettes in the past 30 days if they report smoking cigarettes on one or more of the 30 days preceding the survey.
- Data for this measure are available biennially from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), CDC/NCCDPHP.
- The terms “Hispanic or Latino” and “Hispanic” are used interchangeably in this report.
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