Assessing cigarette smoking levels of intensity among Californian adults

This study assessed the prevalence of cigarette smoking by demographic characteristics. We conducted interactions between gender and race/ethnicity, and one's smoking status. We utilised secondary data comprised of 22,160 participants. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to predict the probability of participants' level of smoking intensity. Majority were non-smokers (93.1%), majority were female (51.2%). Many had a bachelor's degree (23.9%) or some college, or an associate degree (22.8%). Many participants (59.8%) were married/living with a partner, and (25.7%) were single. Most participants spoke English (55.4%) and the largest race/ethnic groups were White (40.2%) followed by Latinos (21.8%). Age distribution was: 18 to 29-year-olds (22.9%), 30 to 39-year-olds (17.6%) and 40 to 49-year-old (16.2%). Findings suggest that one's demographics characteristics do play a role in smoking levels. Hence, public health efforts should create evidence-based interventions that fit each group to reduce disparities among smokers in California.