Trends in Smoking Prevalence by Race based on the Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey

The Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS) can be used to obtain U.S. adult current smoking prevalence estimates for the recent past. In this paper, we use the TUS-CPS to evaluate current smoking prevalence rates and trends by race/ethnicity and gender for the period 1992 to 2003. The TUS-CPS adult sample size of approximately 240,000/year allows accurate estimates of current smoking rates for small race/ethnicity groups, which have often been ignored due to inadequate sample size. In this paper, we provide current smoking prevalence rates and trends for Hispanics and four non-Hispanic races (Whites, Blacks, Asian and Pacific Islanders (API), and American Indian and Alaskan Natives (AIAN)). Due to a directive from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Current Population Survey (CPS) changed its race/ethnicity questions in January 2003. In this paper, we utilized a previously developed race/bridging methodology to estimate the TUS-CPS current smoking prevalence trend for the 1992 to 2003 time period, which included survey results from before and after the wording change. Statistically significant decreases in current smoking rates were obtained during this period for all race/ethnicity*gender combinations with the exception of the Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) females. Historically, the non-Hispanic AIAN group has had the highest current smoking rates for both genders. However, during the 1992-2003 time period, they showed the largest estimated decrease among the five race/ethnicity groups for both genders. The current smoking rates of the nonHispanic AIAN were compared with the non-Hispanic White reference group both adjusting and not-adjusting for covariates; this comparison demonstrated the large impact that socio-economic status (SES) has on current smoking.