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I Chapter 4 
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' Figure 5 
! Prevalence (by percent) of use of light and ultralight cigarettes among current smokers/ 
by sex and age: Ages 10 to 22, United States, 1993 
Male Female Male Female 
1 0- to 1 8-Years-Old 1 9- to 22-Years-Old 
® Who usually buy their own cigarettes. 
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1993. 
In the 1993 TAPS, students were asked to rate how well they were doing * 
in school; the categories used here were less than average, average, better ' 
than average, and much better than average. The percentage of young 
smokers who smoked light or ultralight cigarettes increased with level of 
performance in school: from 30 percent for those who performed less than 
average to 66 percent for those who performed much better than average 
(Figure 6). 
Brand Switching Brand switching is one measure of the perceived health risk 
associated with lower tar yield cigarettes. The 1986 AUTS asked the following 
question of current smokers: "Thinking of your entire smoking history, 
have you ever switched from one cigarette to another, just to reduce the 
amount of tar and nicotine?" Former smokers were asked, "Did you ever 
switch from one type of cigarette to another just to reduce the amount 
of tar and nicotine?" Approximately 38 percent of current smokers and 
26 percent of former smokers answered "Yes." 
The 1987 NHIS asked current smokers, "Have you ever switched to a low 
tar and nicotine cigarette just to reduce your health risk?" About 44 percent 
of current smokers answered that they had switched for that reason. As 
45 
