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Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWRs)

Cigarette Smoking Among Adults—United States, 2000

July 26, 2002 / Vol. 51 / No. 29

MMWR Highlights

• In 2000, approximately 23.3% of adults were current smokers; this was a decline from 25% in 1993.
• Preliminary data for 2001 indicate a continuing decline in current smoking among adults to 22.8%.
• During 1993–2000, substantial reductions in current smoking prevalence were reported for all age groups, except those aged 18–24 years.
• According to the 2000 National Health Interview Survey, 70% of adult smokers in the United States wanted to quit smoking.
• In 2000, 41% of adult smokers in the United States stopped smoking for at least one day because they were trying to quit.
• The percentage of ever smokers who had quit was highest for whites at 51% and lowest for non–Hispanic blacks at 37.3%.
• The percentage of those who had ever smoked and who had quit ranged from 33.6% for those with a GED to 74.4% for those with a graduate degree.
• Nearly half of the ever smokers above the poverty line had quit. Barely a third of ever smokers below the poverty line had similar success in quitting.
• Only 4.7% of those who had quit smoking in past year were able to maintain abstinence from smoking for 3–12 months.

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