Results
Prevalence and risk of daily smoking initiation
A total of 14.9% of SSDP participants reported having
smoked cigarettes daily in the past 30 days at age 16 in the
1991 survey, and this prevalence increased to 21.6% at age
18 in the 1993 survey. These prevalences in this urban
multiethnic sample were slightly higher than the corresponding
national prevalences in the Monitoring the Future
study in the same time periods. For example, nationally,
12.6% of 10th graders (about age 16) in 1991, and 19.0% of
12th graders (about age 18) in 1993 reported having ever
smoked cigarettes daily [30]. Cumulatively, the percentage
of daily smoking initiation was 2.4% by age 13, 5.0% by
age 14, 11.7% by age 15, 18.3% by age 16, 26.6% by age
18, and 37.2% by age 21.
By age 21, the cumulative percentage of daily smoking
initiation was 42.3% for males and 32.0% for females. In
this sample, 43.0% of European Americans, 34.5% of African-
Americans, 23.8% of Asian Americans, 54.2% of Native
Americans, and 34.0% of children of other ethnicity
had ever smoked cigarettes daily by age 21. Finally, 39.4%
of those who were eligible for free lunch during the elementary
school years had ever smoked cigarettes daily by
age 21 compared with 34.9% of those from higher socioeconomic
backgrounds.