In 1988, an estimated 434,175 premature deaths in the United States were attributed to cigarette smoking; for blacks, the rate of years of potential life lost before age 65 (YPLL) attributed to smoking (2471.8 YPLL per 100,000 population) was twice that for whites (1224.7 YPLL per 100,000 population). In the United States, black adolescents are less likely than white adolescents to smoke; however, black adults are more likely than white adults to begin smoking after adolescence. This report summarizes trends in the age at initiation of regular cigarette smoking by race and sex, through analyses by birth cohort from 1910 through 1959; the report is based on data from CDC's National Health Interview Surveys (NHISs) for 1987 and 1988.