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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2006.103945v1 97/8/1427    most recent Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Green, M. P. Articles by Healton, C. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Green, M. P. Articles by Healton, C. G. Related Collections Pregnancy Other Maternal and Infant Health Other Tobacco Smoking Cessation Women's Health

Molly P. Green, MPH, Kristen L. McCausland, MSW, MPH, Haijun Xiao, MS, Jennifer C. Duke, PhD, Donna M. Vallone, PhD, MPH and Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH

All authors are with the American Legacy Foundation, Washington, DC. Cheryl G. Healton is also with the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Molly P. Green, MPH, American Legacy Foundation, 2030 M Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20036 (e-mail: mgreen{at}americanlegacy.org).

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.

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				C. G. Husten Smoking Cessation in Young Adults Am J Public Health, August 1, 2007; 97(8): 1354 - 1356. [Full Text] [PDF]