Rates of smoking initiation among adolescents and young adults, 1907-81

Abstract

Objective -To estimate initiation rates among individuals aged 10-24 for the calendar years 1907-81.

The Contribution of Smoking to Educational Gradients in U.S. Life Expectancy

“…Over time, smoking spread rapidly into all social classes, precipitating a decline in the elegance rituals surrounding smoking. The high rates of smoking observed midcentury were due partly to a general diffusion of innovations process but also to the world wars, during which cigarettes were provided at free or low cost to military personnel and even included in daily rations (Burns et al 1995). This dramatic increase in cigarette consumption is reflected in the fact that 80% of white men born between 1900 and 1930 were ever smokers by age 30 (Burns et al 1997).…”

Patterns of adolescent smoking initiation rates by ethnicity and sex

“…Cross sectional data for adolescent smoking prevalence is available for white male and female adolescents as well as for African American and Hispanic adolescents 4. Current cross sectional data on adult smoking prevalence and age at which smokers first began to smoke regularly have also been used to reconstruct past rates of adolescent smoking initiation,3 5-8 but these estimates have largely been limited to general population estimates. We explored racial and ethnic differences in adolescent smoking initiation from 1940 onward using the 1992-93 and 1995-96 Current Population Surveys to construct retrospectively past rates of smoking initiation.…”

“…Since not all those who first use cigarettes as adolescents become adult cigarette smokers, adolescent surveys may include as smokers some individuals who will be defined as never smokers in adult surveys. Cross sectional surveys of adults have been used to reconstruct past rates of initiation3 6-9 in order to define initiation rates during adolescence among those who have become adult smokers. These surveys use the adult definition of ever smoking and reconstruct adolescent initiation rates using questions that ask for the age at which respondents start smoking regularly, the current age of the respondent, and the survey year.…”

Bar and Club Tobacco Promotions in the Alternative Press: Targeting Young Adults

“…In the past, and among different ethnic groups, first use has been shown to occur after adolescence. [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] Directed marketing toward young adults in social settings such as bars and nightclubs may raise the age at initiation toward what it was in the past. Current increases in young adult smoking, in terms of both overall prevalence and first use, suggest that this directed marketing is having an impact.…”