Intermittent smokers: a descriptive analysis of persons who have never smoked daily.
OBJECTIVE
This study assessed the prevalence of and demographic variables associated with lifetime never-daily smoking in the United States.


METHODS
Descriptive demographic data and logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations with never-daily smoking.


RESULTS
Lifetime never-daily smokers constituted a significant minority of non-White smokers. There was a strong association between never-daily smoking and college education among young adults, particularly men. Although never-daily smoking was associated with initiation behavior among young smokers, it also represented a persistent pattern for some smokers, particularly non-Whites and Hispanics.


CONCLUSIONS
The demographic distribution of never-daily smoking may have implications for developing culturally appropriate smoking prevention and cessation strategies.
Husten
C G
CG
Office of Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
McCarty
M C
MC
Giovino
G A
GA
Chrismon
J H
JH
Zhu
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology