Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.med.nursing,sci.med.pharmacy
From: [jwat c h] at [world.std.com] (Journal Watch)
Subject: Journal Watch Summaries for June 14, 1994
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 1994 17:46:29 GMT

  This is Journal Watch, a medical-literature
survey produced by the Massachusetts Medical
Society.
  Twice a week, our physician-editors summarize
important new clinical research from a group
of 25 journals. Twice a month, the summaries
get compiled into newsletter form and mailed
to subscribers.
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  Contents copyright 1994, Mass. Medical Society.


Journal Watch Summaries for June 14, 1994


HOW MANY PEOPLE SMOKE?.
  MMWR 1994 May 20; 43:342-6.

HOW MANY PEOPLE SMOKE?.
   Cigarette smoking is the most significant preventable
cause of death in the United States, and reducing it is a
major public health objective. According to the National
Health Interview Survey, the prevalence of smoking among
Americans over 17 years of age fell from 42.4 percent in
1965 to 25.5 percent in 1990. In 1992, the survey found a
prevalence of 26.5 percent, amounting to 48 million
Americans -- a small increase partly due to a change in the
definition of "smoker" to include intermittent as well as
daily smokers.
   The highest rates of smoking in 1992 were among people
aged 25 to 44 (31 percent) and those below the poverty line
(35 percent). Slightly more men than women smoked (29 vs. 25
percent), and smoking prevalence declined with increasing
years of education.
   Comment: The CDC notes that cigarette manufacturers
increased their advertising budgets by 16 percent between
1990 and 1991 -- to $4.6 billion per year. Reducing smoking
will require sustained efforts -- with health professionals,
I hope, in the front ranks. --DM Berwick. 
   Citation: Cigarette smoking among adults -- United
States, 1992, and changes in the definition of
current cigarette smoking. MMWR 1994 May 20; 43:342-6.