Chapter 4 
Figure 7 
Percentage of current smokers who have ever switched brands,^ by sex and age: 
Ages 18 and older, United States, 1987 
60 r 
50 — 48.4 
Male Female 18-24 25-44 45-64 65+ 
Sex Age (years) 
® To lower tar/nicotine brands to reduce their health risks. 
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, 1987. 
who had never switched. This suggests that many smokers switch to lower 
tar brands rather than starting with those brands. 
HEALTH BELIEFS Survey data on health beliefs shed light on possible factors that 
AND SWITCHING may drive or influence smokers' switching to lower tar cigarette 
brands. The surveys indicate that current smokers of lower tar brands and 
persons who had switched brands were more likely to acknowledge health 
risks than those who smoked higher tar brands or who had not switched 
brands. Figures 9 and 10 illustrate this relationship between tar yield of the 
smoker's brand and beliefs that smoking is related to cancer and emphysema. 
It is worth pointing out that the majority of smokers of high-tar 
cigarettes, as well as smokers who have never switched, acknowledged the 
health risks of smoking (Figure 10). However, there is an inverse gradient 
for both variables. 
Similarly, concerns about health risks decrease as tar yields rise (Table 1). 
Among smokers who switched brands, 85 percent stated that they were 
47 
