In 1997:
- smoking prevalence was highest among women 25 to 44 (25.7%%); this age group had the largest decline (16 percentage points) in smoking prevalence between 1964 and 1994, but was unchanged between 1995 and 1997.1-2
- prevalence was lowest in the women over 65 for a number of reasons:
- they heard the message about the harm caused by smoking contained in the 1964 Surgeon General's Report and quit smoking
- they never started smoking because they were born in an era when smoking by women was frowned upon
- smoking cessation increases with age
- older smokers have died, leaving proportionately more nonsmokers
- prevalence was as high in the 18-24 group as the 25-44 group, which has historically had the highest prevalence
1 MMWR. 1999;48(43):994-995. Husten GC, Chrismon JH, Reddy MN. Trends and effects of cigarette smoking among girls and women in the United States, 1965-1993. JAMWA. 1996;51(1&2):11-18. |
