Cigarette Smoking—United States, 1965–2008

January 14, 2011 / Vol. 60 / No. 01 / pp. 109–13, Supplements

MMWR Introduction

Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States. Despite overall declines in cigarette smoking, disparities in smoking and other tobacco use still persist among certain racial/ethnic minority and socioeconomic groups. To highlight racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in current cigarette smoking among youths and adults, CDC analyzed aggregated data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health for 2006—2008 and data files from the National Health Interview Survey for 1965—2008. The findings in this report indicate that although progress has been achieved in reducing disparities in cigarette use among certain racial/ethnic groups, less progress has been made in reducing disparities in cigarette use among persons of low socioeconomic status.