title: COMBINING PREVALENCE AND MORTALITY RISK RATES: THE CASE OF CIGARETTE SMOKING.
abstract: Cigarette smoking is a particularly pernicious behavior because of its high prevalence and mortality risk. We use the powerful methodology of life tables with covariates and employ the National Health Interview Survey-Multiple Cause of Death file to illuminate the interrelations of smoking with other risk factors, and with the combined influences of smoking prevalence and population size on smoking-attributable mortality. We find that the smoking-mortality gap is only modestly affected by other risk factors and excess deaths due to smoking among U.S. adults in the year 2000 were as great as 340,000. Better knowledge of the prevalence and mortality risk associated with cigarette smoking statuses enhances the future health and longevity prospects of the U.S. population.
authors.affiliation: Director, Population Program, and Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Colorado.
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.affiliation: Director, Population Research Center, and Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Texas-Austin.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hummer
authors.affiliation: Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar, University of Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Patrick M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Krueger
authors.affiliation: Faculty Research Associate, Population Program, and Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Colorado.
authors.forename: Fred C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Pampel
keywords: Cigarette smoking; Life tables; Mortality risks