Findings You Can Use

Green, M. P., McCausland, K. L., Xiao, H., Duke, J. C., Vallone, D. M., & Healton, C. G. (2007). A closer look at smoking among young adults: Where tobacco control should focus its attention. American Journal of Public Health, 97(8), 1427-1434.

[Link to full article - (2.39 MB)]

Abstract: We sought to fill gaps in knowledge of smoking behaviors among college-educated and non-college-educated young adults. 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. 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. 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.

Major Findings:

• Among young adults aged 18 to 24, smoking prevalence among those without a college education is twice that of college educated ones (30% vs. 14%).
• Among adults aged 25-34, smoking prevalence among those without a college education is twice that of college educated ones (27% vs. 12%).
• This discrepancy is maintained, for the most part, across gender, race/ethnicity, income, occupation and employment status.
• Young adults who earn a low annual income, work in service and blue-collar jobs, and are unemployed have the highest smoking rates regardless of education.
• Current smokers with a college education are more likely to have started smoking later in life and to have tried to quit, compared to current smokers without a college education.
• The results suggest that college-educated young adults may be more informed and supported in their efforts to achieve and maintain healthier behaviors than their non-college-educated peers.