National Household Survey on Drug Abuse Former Cigarette Smokers Report

May 31, 2002

Former Cigarette Smokers

In Brief

  • In 2000, 67 percent of those aged 12 or older (over 148 million persons) in the United States reported any cigarette use during their lifetime

  • Among smokers of at least 100 cigarettes, 42 percent reported not smoking during the past year

  • Males who smoked at least 100 cigarettes reported being former smokers more often than females from this group

Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States, resulting in more than 400,000 deaths annually.1 Numerous negative health effects have been associated with cigarette smoking, most notably lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases.2 The medical benefits of quitting are substantial.3 The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) asked respondents aged 12 or older to report any cigarette use during their lifetime, during the year before the survey, or during the month before the survey. Respondents were also asked whether they had smoked at least 100 cigarettes during their lifetime. For the purpose of this report, respondents who reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes during their lifetime but no past year smoking were classified as former smokers. (In past research, successful cessation has been defined as complete abstinence for at least 6 months.4)

Cigarette Smoking Prevalence
According to the 2000 NHSDA, 67 percent of those aged 12 or older in the United States (over 148 million persons) reported smoking cigarettes during their lifetime, including 43 percent (more than 96 million) who reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes during their lifetime, 29 percent (65 million) during the past year, and 25 percent (almost 56 million) during the past month (Figure 1). Almost 35 percent of youths aged 12 to 17 reported smoking cigarettes at least once during their lifetime, including 10 percent who reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes, 21 percent who reported smoking during the past year, and 13 percent who reported smoking during the past month. Over 70 percent of adults aged 18 or older reported lifetime cigarette smoking, including 47 percent who reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes, 30 percent who reported past year smoking, and 26 percent who reported past month smoking. Males were more likely than females to report lifetime smoking, smoking at least 100 cigarettes, past year smoking, or past month smoking. American Indians/Alaska Natives and whites were more likely than persons from other racial/ethnic groups to report all levels of cigarette use (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Use of Cigarettes, by Age Group: 2000

Figure 2. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Use of Cigarettes, by Race/Ethnicity: 2000

Figure 1. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Use of Cigarettes, by Age Group: 2000 Figure 2. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Use of Cigarettes, by Race/Ethnicity: 2000
Past Year Abstinence from Cigarettes
Of the 96 million persons aged 12 or older who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, 42 percent (40 million) reported not smoking during the past year. Males who smoked at least 100 cigarettes (44 percent) reported being former smokers more often than females from this group (39 percent) (Figure 3). Among those who smoked at least 100 cigarettes, American Indians/Alaska Natives (18 percent) were less likely, and whites (44 percent) were more likely, to be former smokers than those from other racial/ethnic groups (Figure 4).

Figure 3. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Who Smoked at Least 100 Cigarettes, by Gender and Past Year Abstinence: 2000

Figure 4. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Who Smoked at Least 100 Cigarettes, by Race/Ethnicity and Past Year Abstinence: 2000

Figure 3. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Who Smoked at Least 100 Cigarettes, by Gender and Past Year Abstinence: 2000 Figure 4. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Who Smoked at Least 100 Cigarettes, by Race/Ethnicity and Past Year Abstinence: 2000
End Notes
1 McGinnis, J.M., & Foege, W.H. (1999). Mortality and morbidity attributable to the use of addictive substances in the United States. Proceedings from the Association of American Physicians, 111, 109-118.

2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1981). Surgeon General report: The health consequences of smoking. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.

3 Peto, R., Darby, S., Deo, H., Silcocks, P., Whitley, E., & Doll, R. (2000). Smoking, smoking cessation, and lung cancer in the UK since 1950: Combination of national statistics with two case-control studies. British Medical Journal, 321, 323-329.

4 Velicer, W.F., Prochaska, J.O., Rossi, J.S., & Snow, M.G. (1992). Assessing outcome in smoking cessation studies. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 23-41.

Figure Notes
Source (all figures): SAMHSA 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA).

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) is an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The 2000 data are based on information obtained from nearly 72,000 persons aged 12 or older. The survey collects data by administering questionnaires to a representative sample of the population through face-to-face interviews at their place of residence.

The NHSDA Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS), SAMHSA, and by RTI in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

Information and data for this issue are based on the following publication and statistics:

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2001). Summary of findings from the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA Series: H-13, DHHS Publication No. SMA 01-3549). Rockville, MD: Author.

Also available on-line at
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov.

Additional tables: 2.30A, 2.30B, 2.34A, and 2.34B from http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/nhsda/2kdetailedtabs/Vol_1_Part_1/V1P1.htm.

Additional tables available upon request.
The NHSDA Report is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of this fact sheet may be downloaded from Other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are also available on-line on the OAS home page: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov

This page was last updated on December 31, 2008.