1. A Closer Look at Smoking Among Young Adults: Where Tobacco Control Should Focus Its Attention.
- Author
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Green, Molly P, McCausland, Kristen L., Xiao, Haijun, Duke, Jennifer C., Vallone, Donna M., and Healton, Cheryl G.
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YOUTH & drugs , *YOUNG adults -- Substance use , *TOBACCO use , *HEALTH behavior research , *ACADEMIC degrees , *SMOKING prevention , *SMOKING cessation - Abstract
Objectives. We sought to fill gaps in knowledge of smoking behaviors among college-educated and non-college-educated young adults. Methods. We used data from the 2003 Tobacco Use Supplement of the Current Population Survey to analyze smoking behaviors among young adults aged 18-24 years and older young adults aged 25-34 years by college status (enrolled, or with a degree, but not enrolled) and other measures of socioeconomic position. Results. Current smoking prevalence among US young adults aged 18-24 years who are not enrolled in college or who do not have a college degree was 30%. This was more than twice the current smoking prevalence among college-educated young adults (14%). Non-college-educated young adults were more likely than were college-educated young adults to start smoking at a younger age and were less likely to have made a quit attempt, although no differences were found in their intentions to quit. Higher rates of smoking in the non-college-educated population were also evident in the slightly older age group. Conclusions. Non-college-educated young adults smoke at more than twice the rate of their college-educated counterparts. Targeted prevention and cessation efforts are needed for non-college-educated young adults to prevent excess morbidity and mortality in later years. (Am J Public Health. 2007;97:1427-1433. doi:10.2105/ AJPH.2006.103945) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
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