Changes in Cigarette Smoking

Per capita sales of filter-tip cigarettes have increased rapidly since 1954 while sales of plain-tip brands have decreased. Annual consumption of nicotine from cigarettes per person showed a steady decline from 1952–59. An evaluation was made of the changes in cigarette smoking habits in a 2-year period (1959–60 to 1961–62) among 403,838 men and 527,287 women. There was a slight decrease in the number of persons reporting cigarette smoking in 1961–62 as compared with 1959–60, but more women reported heavy smoking in the later period. The tendency of ex-cigarette smokers to resume cigarette smoking was directly related to the former amount of smoking and inversely related to the length of time they had stopped smoking. Among persons who smoked less than 20 cigarettes a day in 1959–60, the proportion who increased their cigarette consumption in 1961–62 exceeded the proportion who stopped or decreased their consumption. Heavy smokers and persons over 70 tended to decrease their cigarette consumption during this period. The highest proportion of ex-cigarette smokers was found among men and women who were college graduates. Sixty-five percent of men who switched to low-nicotine and low-tar content cigarettes did not change the number smoked per day. Number of years of smoking, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and degree of inhalation of smoke are all related to the age at start of smoking.