Summary Table: Prevention – Smoking

Only one measure per topic is displayed in the summary table. A complete set of measures, where they exist, can be found in the report.

Trend key:		green - headed in the right direction
		red - headed in the wrong direction
		black - stable or non-significant change (NSC)
		blue - Healthy People 2010 target

	Age at smoking initiation 2002–2008	Youth smoking 1991–2007	Adult smoking 1991–2008	Quitting smoking 1998–2008
Measure	Average age of first use of cigarettes, based on responses from people aged 12–17 years who said they had initiated smoking during the past 12 months.	Percentage of high school students grades 9–12 who were current users of cigarettes.	Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who were current cigarette smokers (both sexes).	Percentage of current everyday smokers (aged 18 years and older) who quit smoking for one day or longer during the past 12 months.
Recent summary trend*	Rising 2004–2008	Falling 2003–2007	Falling 2004–2008	Stable 2004–2008
Desired direction	Rising	Falling	Falling	Rising
Trend details	Rising	Non-significant change, then falling	Falling	Stable
Most recent estimate	In 2008, the average age at first use among those aged 12–17 years was 15.1 years.	Among high school students in 2007, 20 percent were current cigarette smokers.	In 2008, 20.6 percent of adults were current cigarette smokers.	In 2008, 41.5 percent of smokers aged 18 years and older stopped smoking for one day or longer because they were trying to quit.
Healthy People 2010 target	Increase the average age at first use of cigarettes to 17.6 years of age for the 12–17-year age group.	Decrease to 16 percent the proportion of high school students who currently smoke cigarettes.	Reduce to 12 percent the proportion of adult current cigarette smokers.	Increase to 75 percent the proportion of adult smokers aged 18 years and older who stop smoking for a day or longer because they are trying to quit.
More information	Age at Smoking Initiation	Youth Smoking	Adult Smoking	Quitting Smoking

Previous: How to Interpret the Graphs in the Summary Tables	Next: Prevention - Clinicians’ Advice to Quit Smoking
* Summary trend (generally 5 most recent years) as characterized by the Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC).

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