Intermittent smokers: a descriptive analysis of persons who have never smoked daily

Am J Public Health. 1998 Jan;88(1):86-9. doi: 10.2105/ajph.88.1.86.

Abstract

Objectives: This study assessed the prevalence of and demographic variables associated with lifetime never-daily smoking in the United States.

Methods: Descriptive demographic data and logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations with never-daily smoking.

Results: Lifetime never-daily smokers constituted a significant minority of non-White smokers. There was a strong association between never-daily smoking and college education among young adults, particularly men. Although never-daily smoking was associated with initiation behavior among young smokers, it also represented a persistent pattern for some smokers, particularly non-Whites and Hispanics.

Conclusions: The demographic distribution of never-daily smoking may have implications for developing culturally appropriate smoking prevention and cessation strategies.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Educational Status
  • Female
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Income
  • Logistic Models
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Smoking / epidemiology*
  • Smoking / ethnology
  • United States / epidemiology