Cigarette Smoking Drops to Lowest Level in 25 Year Trend

Business Wire, March 5, 2008

Thirty Seven Million Adults Still Smoke

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Efforts to reduce the number of cigarette smokers have been ongoing for many years, but it has proved very difficult to reduce the numbers of young people who start to smoke and to break the addiction of smokers. So a new Harris Poll that finds the lowest level of cigarette smoking yet is good news. However, we should not forget that eight percent of the adult population smokes cigars or pipes, or uses chewing tobacco, or that many millions are still smoking cigarettes.

Every year at about this time, The Harris Poll([R]) asks a cross-section of American adults about some of their most important health risks and their healthy and unhealthy behaviors, specifically their weight, seat belt use and smoking habits. The latest survey is based on a nationwide telephone survey of 1,010 adults who were interviewed between February 5 and 11, 2008.

Smoking and Tobacco Use

When the Harris Poll first started asking these questions in 1983, 30 percent of adults smoked cigarettes. In this year's survey only 17 percent do so. Because of small annual fluctuations it is also desirable to look at the multi-year averages that produce more stable and somewhat more reliable numbers. These show cigarette smoking has fallen from 29 percent in the early eighties to 21 percent for 2006 to 2008. While it is obviously good news that cigarette smoking has fallen, the rate of decline has not been fast. Because smoking is now banned in offices and public spaces in many states, it is much less visible than it used to be. But the approximately 37 million adult cigarette smokers are still a huge public health problem.

Furthermore eight percent of the adult population smokes cigars or pipes, or uses chewing tobacco, adding (because three percent of these also smoke cigarettes) six percent to the total number of people who use tobacco of one type or another (23%).

Weight and Obesity

This year's survey finds that fully 78 percent of adults over 25 are overweight (using the Metropolitan Life measures based on height, body frame and weight), virtually unchanged from last year's 79 percent. Twenty five years ago, using the same measures, "only" 58 percent were overweight. This year's survey finds that 33 percent of all adults aged 25 and over are obese (using the definition of 20 percent or more overweight). This compares with 15 percent 25 years ago.

Averaging the data over multiple years shows the percentages of obese adults over 25 rising from 15 percent in the early eighties to 36 percent in 2006-2008.

Seat Belt Use

The proportion of adults who say they always wear seat belts when in the front seat of a car rose sharply in the 1980s and 1990s, reaching 79 percent by 2000. This has now risen to 87 percent, virtually identical to the numbers for 2005, 2006 and 2007.

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Methodology

The Harris Poll([R]) was conducted by telephone within the United States between February 5 and 11, 2008 among a nationwide cross section of 1,010 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, number of adults in the household, size of place (urbanicity), and number of phone lines voice/telephone lines in the household were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling are subject to ,multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100 percent response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the largest and fastest-growing market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll([R]), one of the longest running, independent opinion polls, and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.