Molly P. Green ^1*, Kristen L. McCausland ¹, Haijun Xiao ¹, Jennifer C. Duke ¹, Donna M. Vallone ¹, Cheryl G. Healton ²

¹ American Legacy Foundation
² American Legacy Foundation, Columbia University

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mgreen{at}americanlegacy.org.

	Abstract

Objective. 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.

Key Words: Prevention, Socioeconomic Factors, Smoking Cessation, Tobacco Control, Tobacco

This article has been cited by other articles:

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