2003 Summary Table Technical Notes

Notes on All Tables

  1. Table 1 data are weighted for the sample design and for CPS Smoking Supplement non-response. Values in Tables 2 through 5 are weighted for the sample design and for Smoking Supplement self-response.
  2. Tabled values may not sum exactly to 100% due to rounding error.
  3. Tables 1 through 5 contain simple parameter estimates (percentages and means), and measures of variance in the form of confidence intervals. These confidence intervals were estimated using replicate weights. Alternative estimates of variance and confidence intervals can be made for simple analyses using Attachment 16 of the 2003 Tobacco Use Special Cessation Supplement of the US Census Bureau Technical Documentation. Replicate weights necessary for more complex analysis such as regression or analysis of variance are available from NCI.
  4. Region:
    • Northeast = Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont;
    • Midwest = Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin;
    • South = Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia;
    • West = Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.

Notes on Table 1

As an example of the analysis of cigarette smoking prevalence, Table 1 contains estimates for several categories of smoking behavior. Smoking status was determined by asking self and proxy respondents:

  1. "(Have/has) (you/name) smoked at least 100 cigarettes in (your/his/her) entire life?", and
  2. "(Do/does) (you/name) now smoke cigarettes everyday, some days, or not at all?"

Current smoking is therefore represented as the sum of Everyday and Some-day smoking. Former smokers are defined as those who have smoked 100 or more cigarettes, but who were no longer smoking at the time of the interview, and Never smokers were defined as those who had smoked less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.

Table 1

Notes on Table 2

Table 2 reflects the percentage of survey respondents self-reporting: a) that smoking is not allowed inside their home, and b) that smoking is not allowed in their place of business.

Home-ban values are determined from the item: "Which statement best describes the rules about smoking in your home: No one is allowed to smoke anywhere, smoking is permitted in some places or at some times, or smoking is permitted anywhere?" Responses of "No one is allowed to smoke anywhere" are tabulated for this table.

Complete restriction of smoking at work was determined by asking respondents who worked indoors (and who are not self-employed, or working in someone else's or their own home, in several buildings, or in a motor vehicle) three questions (see Table footnote for question wording).

Table 2

Notes on Table 3

Two measures of smoking cessation behavior are represented in Table 3. Both measures involve individuals who were daily smokers one year prior to the CPS interview. The first column is a measure of any cessation activity within the past year -- it combines:

  1. daily smokers having one or more (24-hour or longer) quit attempts in past year,
  2. current some-day smokers who had previously smoked daily about 12 months ago,
  3. former smokers who quit less than 3 months prior to the interview, and
  4. former smokers who quit 3 or more months prior to interview.

(For more information on this definition of quitting behavior, see Shopland, Burns, Amacher, and Ruppert, 2000, Chapter 2).

The second column, labeled "Had quit smoking for 3+ months," refers to former smokers at the time of the interview who had completely quit smoking cigarettes 3+ months ago, but had been daily smokers about a year ago.

Table 3

Notes on Table 4

Table 4 illustrates the current usage of non-cigarette tobacco products -- use of pipes, cigars, chewing tobacco and snuff by current cigarette smoking status and gender. These products were assessed using three questions: "(Have/Has) (you/name) EVER used a pipe, cigar, chewing tobacco or snuff, EVEN ONE TIME?" If the answer is "yes," then the respondent is asked "Which ones?" and one or more of the products are recorded. The respondent is then asked for each product answered "yes" -- "(Do/Does) (you/name) NOW smoke/use [fill entry from previous question] every day, some days or not at all?" Cigarette smoking status definition is as described in the notes on Table 1. Note this information could have also been examined including self and proxy respondents, we include here only self respondents as an illustration of a reduction in sample size when using only self respondents.

Table 4

Notes on Table 5

Table 5 includes estimates of current every day and some day smoking of menthol and light (light/mild, ultralight) cigarettes. This information comes from two questions:

  1. "Is your usual cigarette brand menthol or non-menthol?", and
  2. "What type of cigarettes do you smoke most often -- a regular, a light, an ultralight, or some other type?"

Estimates for the percentage of current every day smokers who smoked their first cigarette of the day within 30 minutes of awakening was obtained from two questions:

  1. "How soon after you wake up do you typically smoke your first cigarette of the day?"
  2. For those who said it varies or they don't know, we also asked "Would you say you smoke your first cigarette of the day within the first 30 minutes?"

We combined the answers to both questions to obtain better information and fewer unknowns. Table 5 also presents information for current every day smokers regarding any NRT use during the last quit attempt during the past 12 months. This was assessed by asking those current every day smokers who tried to quit for at least 24 hours or more (we also looked at this including those who tried to quit but didn't make it 24 hours) at least once in the past 12 months the following questions:

  • "Thinking back to the (LAST TIME/ time) you tried to QUIT smoking in the past 12 months: Did you use ANY of the following: A nicotine gum?... A nicotine patch?... A nicotine nasal spray?... A nicotine inhaler?... A nicotine lozenge?...."

For examining the percentage of current every day and some day smokers who have seen a health professional in the past 12 months and have been advised by him/her to quit smoking we used the following questions:

  1. "In the PAST 12 MONTHS, have you seen a doctor, dentist, nurse, or other health professional?"
  2. If answer is "yes," then the respondent was asked "During the PAST 12 MONTHS, did any doctor, dentist, nurse, or other health professional ADVISE you to quit smoking?"

The percentage of all respondents who believe that smoking in bars and cocktail lounges should not be allowed at all is obtained from the question, "In bars and cocktail lounges, do you think that smoking should be allowed in all areas, allowed in some areas, or not allowed at all?"

To obtain information regarding the mean cost of cigarettes purchased by the pack among current every day and some day smokers, we asked the following questions:

  1. "Do you USUALLY buy your cigarettes by the pack or by the carton?"
  2. If current smoker answers by the pack , we then ask: "What price did you pay for the LAST pack of cigarettes you bought? Please report the cost after using discounts or coupons."
  3. To include the estimate of cost per pack of cigarettes from purchases by the carton we divided the price per carton by 10 which came from the next question (see footnote to table 5) -- "What price did you pay for the LAST carton of cigarettes you bought? Please report the cost after using discounts or coupons."

Table 5

Last Updated
September 24, 2020