Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 7 
Table 1 
Tar level (percent) of cigarette last smoked 
Tar Levels (mg) 
Smoker Classification 
(weighted data) (N) 
Very Low 
1-5 
Low 
6-10 
Medium 
11-15 
High 
16+ 
Cannot 
Determine 
Current Smokers 
Some-days smokers (56) 
9 
34 
9 
zo 
Every-day smokers (232) 
8 
22 
21 
40 
10 
Recent (2 to 3 years) quitters (36) 
11 
11 
25 
28 
25 
Those Smoking in the Past 2 to 3 Years 
All smokers (325) 
9 
22 
19 
35 
14 
Male (152) 
5 
24 
13 
42 
17 
Female (174) 
12 
21 
25 
29 
12 
White (268) 
10 
23 
21 
31 
15 
Black (28) 
0 
14 
18 
64 
4 
Hispanic (26) 
4 
15 
4 
58 
19 
18 
High school or less education (1 07) 
6 
T5 
21 
41 
At least some college education (1 46) 
12 
32 
23 
30 
12 
Smokers of regular size cigarettes (145) 
5 
28 
11 
40 
16 
Smokers of longer cigarettes (173) 
12 
19 
27 
32 
1 1 
Smokers of soft pack cigarettes (1 80) 
13 
17 
22 
33 
16 
Smokers of hard pack cigarettes (1 33) 
3 
29 
17 
41 
9 
Smokers of plain cigarettes (223) 
9 
24 
18 
3b 
15 
12 
Smokers of menthol cigarettes (101) 
8 
20 
23 
38 
Fifty-eight percent of current smokers smoked a cigarette with 15 mg or 
less of tar, and 9 percent smoked a cigarette with 1 to 5 mg of tar. Recent I 
quitters tended to come from relatively higher tar categories, consistent 
with evidence suggesting that switching to the lowest tar cigarettes was a [ 
substitute for, rather than a stepping stone to, quitting. High-tar cigarette j] 
use was more frequent among males, blacks, and Hispanics and decreased | 
markedly with educational attainment. 
KNOWLEDGE OF Those smoking cigarettes in the past 2 to 3 years were asked to tell j 
ADVERTISED the interviewer the tar number of their most recently smoked ; 
TAR NUMBERS cigarette. Seventy-nine percent indicated that they did not know. 
rhis increased to about 90 percent for those having less than a high school ^ 
education, smokers ages 55 and older, and black smokers. Respondents 
answering "do not know" then were asked to come as close as they could, < 
and interviewers were to probe for their "best guess." Fifty-eight percent still j 
reported not knowing. ' 
Initial responses were slightly more likely to be underestimates (9 percent) 
than correct answers (defined as plus or minus 1 mg from the actual tar level) ; : 
128 
