Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 7 
Figure 8 
Percentage of current smokers who have ever switched brands/ by race/ethnicity and 
education: Ages 18 and older. United States, 1987 
White Black Hispanic 0-8 9-11 12 13-15 16+ 
Race/Ethnicity Education (years completed) 
* To lower tar/nicotine brands to reduce their health risks. 
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, 1987. 
concerned about the health effects of smoking compared with 70 percent of 
those who had never switched. Furthermore, people in the lower tar yield 
categories and those who switched were more likely to respond that their 
health had been affected by their smoking, and they were more likely to 
report that a doctor had advised them to quit. 
Moreover, people who smoke low-tar cigarettes and those who switched 
were more likely to acknowledge that some brands are more hazardous than 
others (Table 1). Smokers of low-tar brands were more likely to state that 
their brand is less hazardous compared with smokers of higher tar brands. 
Among switchers, 33 percent believed that their brand is less hazardous than 
other brands. For smokers who had never switched, only 16 percent held 
this belief. 
In the 1993 TAPS, adolescents and young adults who smoked light and 
ultralight cigarettes were asked why they smoked those brands. Four reasons 
were most commonly cited: Thirty-three percent of respondents said that 
48 
