Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 7 
Figure 6 
Prevalence (by percent) of use of light and ultralight cigarettes among current smokers,^ 
by race/ethnicity and school performance: Ages 10 to 22 years. United States, 1993 
■ Ultralights □ Lights 
66.4 
White Black Hispanic < Average Average > Average » Average 
Race/Ethnicity School Performance 
* Who usually buy their own cigarettes. 
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1993. 
shown in Figures 7 and 8, there are clear trends and differences by sex, age, 
race/ethnicity, and education. Figure 7 shows that females (48.4 percent) 
were more likely to switch than males (39.4 percent). Smokers in the 25-to- 
44 and 45-to-64 age groups were most likely to have switched to lower yield 
brands (45.2 and 45.9 percent, respectively), followed by smokers older 
than age 64 (41.3 percent) and those 18 to 24 years (36.4 percent). Figure 8 
shows that whites (47 percent) were more likely to switch than Hispanics 
(30.9 percent) or African-Americans (30.8 percent), and the more educated 
were more likely to switch than the less educated. 
Smokers of low-tar yield varieties were more likely to have switched. 
That is, among smokers consuming brands yielding 6 mg or less tar, 
74 percent of current smokers in the 1986 AUTS had ever switched compared 
with 19 percent of smokers consuming cigarettes yielding 16 mg or more 
tar. Fhese patterns were similar for both former smokers (as reported by 
the AUTS) and current smokers (as reported by the NlllS). 
Persons who switched brands were more likely to smoke low-tar yield 
brands. For example, according to the 1986 AUTS, 22 percent of switchers 
smoked brands yielding 6 mg or less tar compared with 5 percent of people 
46 
