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Introduction
Quitting smoking has major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all ages. Quitting smoking dramatically reduces the risk of lung and other cancers, coronary heart disease, stroke, and chronic lung disease. For example, 10 years after a person quits smoking, his or her risk of lung cancer is decreased to about one-third to one-half of that of a person who continues to smoke; with continued abstinence from smoking, the risk of lung cancer decreases even further.
Although quitting smoking is beneficial at any age, the earlier in life a person quits, the more likely it is that he or she will avoid the devastating health effects of continued tobacco use. Few smokers can quit successfully on their first attempt; most people will require several attempts before they are able to permanently quit. This emphasizes the need for smokers to begin trying to quit as early in life as possible.
Measure
Attempt to quit: The percentage of adult smokers aged 18 years and older who attempted smoking cessation within the past 12 months. The attempt-to-quit measure includes both current smokers who smoke every day or some days and who, at the time of the survey, had quit smoking for at least 1 day during the past 12 months, as well as recent former smokers, who quit smoking less than 1 year ago.
Successful quitting: The percentage of recent smoking cessation success for adult smokers (aged 18 years and older) includes two conditions that define successful cessation. If a survey participant satisfied both of the following criteria, they were only included once in the calculation.
- Former smokers who had quit smoking 6-12 months prior to the survey interview.
- Former smokers who had initiated smoking at least 2 years prior to the survey interview and who quit smoking any time during the past 12 months.
Healthy People 2020 Target
- Increase to 80 percent the proportion of adult current smokers (aged 18 years and older) who stopped smoking for a day or longer because they were trying to quit.
- Increase to 8 percent the proportion of adult smokers (aged 18 years and older) who successfully quit smoking for at least 6 months in the past 12 months.
- Healthy People 2020 is developing two additional targets to promote smoking cessation using evidence-based strategies. These developmental targets include one to increase smoking cessation attempts by adult smokers using evidence-based strategies (TU-4.2) and one to increase recent smoking cessation success by adult smokers using evidence-based strategies (TU-5.2).
Healthy People 2020 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Note: Goals are indicated as blue line on Detailed Trend Graphs.
Data Source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey 1998-2016.
Trends and Most Recent Estimates
Attempted to Quit Smoking
By Sex
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Both Sexes
|
53.4 | 51.4 - 55.3 |
Male
|
51.8 | 49.0 - 54.6 | |
Female
|
55.0 | 52.6 - 57.5 | |
By Race/Ethnicity
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
All Races
|
53.4 | 51.4 - 55.3 |
Non-Hispanic White
|
51.1 | 49.1 - 53.2 | |
Non-Hispanic Black
|
63.6 | 58.5 - 68.4 | |
Hispanic
|
57.4 | 49.8 - 64.7 | |
By Age
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Ages 18-24
|
63.3 | 56.1 - 69.9 |
Ages 25 and older
|
52.1 | 50.2 - 54.0 | |
By Sex and Age
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Males, Ages 18-24
|
61.0 | 50.6 - 70.5 |
Males, Ages 25+
|
50.4 | 47.6 - 53.2 | |
Females, Ages 18-24
|
66.7 | 59.1 - 73.6 | |
Females, Ages 25+
|
53.9 | 51.2 - 56.5 | |
By Poverty Income Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
<200% of federal poverty level
|
52.9 | 49.9 - 55.9 |
>=200% of federal poverty level
|
54.0 | 51.4 - 56.5 | |
By Education Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Less than High School
|
54.0 | 49.3 - 58.5 |
High School
|
49.0 | 45.8 - 52.3 | |
Greater than High School
|
53.5 | 51.1 - 55.9 | |
Successfully Quit Smoking
By Sex
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Both Sexes
|
7.6 | 6.7 - 8.7 |
Male
|
7.5 | 6.3 - 9.1 | |
Female
|
7.6 | 6.3 - 9.2 | |
By Race/Ethnicity
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
All Races
|
7.6 | 6.7 - 8.7 |
Non-Hispanic White
|
7.5 | 6.5 - 8.7 | |
Non-Hispanic Black
|
6.1 | 4.0 - 9.2 | |
Hispanic
|
9.6 | 6.2 - 14.5 | |
By Age
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Ages 18-24
|
11.0 | 7.1 - 16.8 |
Ages 25 and older
|
7.0 | 6.2 - 8.0 | |
By Sex and Age
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Males, Ages 18-24
|
10.2 | 6.1 - 16.6 |
Males, Ages 25+
|
6.8 | 5.6 - 8.2 | |
Females, Ages 18-24
|
11.5 | 5.7 - 21.7 | |
Females, Ages 25+
|
7.3 | 6.1 - 8.8 | |
By Poverty Income Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
<200% of federal poverty level
|
5.8 | 4.6 - 7.2 |
>=200% of federal poverty level
|
9.2 | 7.7 - 10.9 | |
By Education Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Less than High School
|
5.8 | 3.3 - 9.8 |
High School
|
4.8 | 3.7 - 6.1 | |
Greater than High School
|
8.8 | 7.5 - 10.4 | |
Evidence-based Resources
Evidence-based intervention programs are available on the Research-tested interventions (RTIPs) website that promote smoking cessation and provide guidance to quit.
Additional Information on Quitting Smoking
For the public
- Tobacco and Cancer. American Cancer Society.
- Surgeon General’s Reports on Smoking and Tobacco Use. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Surgeon General.gov. 50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Tobacco Products. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
For health professionals
- Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs – 2014. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Scientific reports
- Heterogeneity in past year cigarette smoking quit attempts among Latinos. Gundersen DA, Echeverria SE, Lewis MJ, Giovino GA, Ohman-Strickland P, Delnevo CD. J Environ Public Health 2012;2012:378165.
- Dispelling myths about gender differences in smoking cessation: population data from the USA, Canada and Britain. Jarvis MJ, Cohen JE, Delnevo CD, Giovino GA. Tob Control 2013 Sep;22(5):356-60.
- Quitting smoking among adults – United States, 2001–2010. Malarcher A, Dube S, Shaw L, Babb S, Kaufmann R. MMWR 2011;60(44):1513–19.
- Home matters: work and household predictors of smoking and cessation among blue-collar workers. Okechukwu CA, Dutra LM, Bacic J, El Ayadi A, Emmons KM. Prev Med 2013 Feb;56(2):130-4.
- Are quit attempts among U.S. female nurses who smoke different from female smokers in the general population? An analysis of the 2006/2007 tobacco use supplement to the current population survey. Sarna L, Bialous SA, Nandy K, Yang Q. BMC Womens Health 2012;12:4.
- Efficacy of smoking-cessation interventions for young adults: a meta-analysis. Suls JM, Luger TM, Curry SJ, Mermelstein RJ, Sporer AK, An LC. Am J Prev Med. 2012;42(6):655–62.
- Monograph 12: Population Based Smoking Cessation Proceedings of a Conference on What Works to Influence Cessation in the General Population. U.S. Public Health Service and the National Cancer Institute.
- Interventions to increase smoking cessation at the population level: how much progress has been made in the last two decades? SH Zhu, M Lee, YL Zhuang, A Gamst, T Wolfson. Tobacco Control 2012; 21(2):110-118.
Statistics
- The Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey. National Cancer Institute.
For smokers
- How to Quit Smoking or Smokeless Tobacco. American Cancer Society.
- Smokefree.gov. National Cancer Institute.
- Tobacco. National Cancer Institute.
- North American Quitline Consortium.