Cigarette Use, by Age Group and Gender (Tables 8.1 to 8.3)

The prevalence of smoking showed important differences by age and gender. In particular, the lifetime prevalence of smoking did not differ significantly among adolescent males and females (39% vs. 38%, respectively). Among young adults aged 18 to 25, however, 72% of males had tried a cigarette at some point in their lifetime compared with 63% of females.

Young adult males also were significantly more likely than young adult females to be past year or current smokers. About 47% of males aged 18 to 25 were current smokers compared with about 35% of young adult females (Table 8.3). In addition, the prevalence of past year smoking was significantly higher among males aged 26 to 34 compared with females in this age group, but the past month rates for males and females did not differ significantly.

The past year and past month rates among males and females were not significantly different for the youngest and oldest age groups. About 19% of the adolescent males and 21% of the adolescent females were current smokers.

This page was last updated on December 30, 2008.

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