Statistical Brief #7:

Smoking Status of Adults --- United States, 2000 

By Mamatha Pancholi, M.S. 

Introduction 

Preventing disease and illness in Americans is one of several strategic goals the 

Department of Health and Human Services has established to protect and improve the 

health and well being of the American public. Future reductions in morbidity and 

mortality will be dependent on improving personal behavioral practices detrimental to 

health such as smoking. 

Starting in 2000 a self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) was added to the Medical 

Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to collect a battery of health status and satisfaction 

with health care information. This MEPS Statistical Brief presents preliminary findings 

based on smoking data obtained from the SAQ. Self-reported data from the SAQ were 

used in concert with demographic, chronic condition, and preventive care information 

collected in the core MEPS instrument to describe the prevalence of smoking in the 

United States. 

The SAQ was administered in late 2000 and early 2001. Among eligible persons 18 years 

and older, self-administered questionnaire information was ascertained for 15,661 adults 

for a response rate of 87%. Accounting for both the survey and SAQ response rates 

yields an overall response rate of 61%. The data are nationally representative of the U.S. 

non-institutionalized civilian population 18 or older. In the self administered 

questionnaire respondents were asked “Do you currently smoke?” If affirmative a 

follow-up question was asked: “In the past 12 months did a doctor advise you to quit 

smoking?” The results presented in this statistical brief are statistically significant at the 

.05 level. The small level of item nonresponse to the smoking related questions were 

classified as non-affirmative responses. More information on MEPS can be found on the 

“What is MEPS” section of the MEPS web site at: www.meps.ahrq.gov. 

Findings 

In late 2000, early 2001, 23.1% of the adult U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population 

(46.4 million) currently smoked.

Among the U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population 18 or over, almost a quarter of 

non-Hispanic blacks (23.6%) and non-Hispanic white and other persons (23.8%) smoked 

as compared to only 16.8 % of Hispanics. (Figure 1) 

Educational status and gender were key factors related to smoking status. Among adults 

18 or older, persons with less than a high school education (32.8%) were substantially 

more likely than those with more than 12 years of education (15.8%) to smoke. (Figure 2) 
Slightly over half of all adult smokers were male (54.6%). 28.9% of non-elderly men 

aged 18-64 were smokers. They were more likely than older males (13.1%), non-elderly 

women (21.9%) and women aged 65 and older (10.8%) to be reported as current 

smokers. 

Overall, about 57% of smokers who had a routine check-up in the last 12 months were 

counseled by a physician to stop smoking. A substantial number of persons with reported 

physician diagnosed chronic conditions continued to smoke despite their health problems. 

About 37.9 % of persons with emphysema, 24.8 % of persons with asthma, 20% of 

persons with hypertension or cardiovascular problems, and 18.5 % of persons with 

diabetes reported that they currently smoked. (Figure 3) For current smokers with at least 

one of these conditions, 3 out of 5 were advised by their doctor to stop smoking in the 

past 12 months. 

Persons in fair/poor health were about 1.5 times as likely as persons in excellent or very 

good health to smoke (26.3% vs. 17.4%). 

Briefly Stated 

• In late 2000, early 2001, 23.1 % of the U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population 

aged 18 or over reported that they currently smoked. 

• Persons with less than a high school education were more than twice as likely as 

those with at least some post high school education to be smokers (32.8 % vs. 15.8 

%). 

• Approximately 57% of current smokers who had a routine check-up in the last 12 

months were counseled by a physician to stop smoking.