Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6 613 45% in 2005, 48% in 2008). This shift may contribute to explain some of the rise in smoking prevalence among the unemployed, but it certainly does not explain the whole picture. 3.2. Comparing Poor Smokers and Other Smokers’ Habits and Motives Table I compares the socio-demographic background of “Poor smokers” and “Other smokers” categories, in order to check that the “Poor smokers” category was positively correlated to some indicators of socioeconomic deprivation. Respondents gathered in the “Poor smokers” category were more frequently women than other smokers, with a higher proportion of people aged 35-49 years-old. These poor smokers were also more frequently manual workers or clerks (66% versus 47%, p<0.001), they were more likely to report that they have not completed high-school (25% versus 48%, p<0.001), and they were also more likely to report a monthly household income lower than 1,500 € (51% versus 86%, p<0.001). Finally, 16% of poor smokers were single parents (versus 6% among other smokers, p<0.01). Table 1. Socio-demographic profile of poor smokers and other smokers, France, 2008. Poor smokers Other smokers (N=115) (N=506) row percentages Gender -women -men Age (in years) -18-24 -25-34 35-49 50-64 65-75 Occupation: -manual worker / clerk -other Educational level: -< high-school -≥ high-school Monthly household income: † -< 1,500 € - ≥ 1,500 € Single parent: -no -yes 56% 44% 10% 29% 40% 20% 1% 66% 34% 75% 25% 49% 51% 84% 16% 44% 56% * 20% 27% 32% 17% 4% # 47% 53% *** 52% 48% *** 14% 86% *** 94% 6% ** ***,**,*,#,ns: respectively significant at p<0.001, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, non significant (Pearson‟s χ²). † 41 smokers did not reported their income level and where excluded from the bivariate analysis. Table 2 compares poor smokers and other smokers‟ smoking habits, their reactions to the cigarette price increase, as well as their smoking motivations. On average, poor smokers were heavier smokers: