QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥25 Years Who Were Current Smokers or Current Regular Drinkers,* by Education Level † — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2012 §

Among adults aged ≥25 years in 2012, 26.5% of those who did not graduate from high school and 26.4% who had a high school diploma or GED were current smokers, compared with 19.7% who had attended some college and 7.9% with a college degree. In contrast, 64.2% of college graduates were current regular drinkers, compared with 52.3% of adults with some college, 47.3% of high school graduates or GED recipients, and 35.3% of adults who did not finish high school.

Source: Blackwell DL, Lucas JW, Clarke TC. Summary health statistics for U.S. adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2012 (provisional report). Vital Health Stat 2014;10(260). Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_260.pdf.

Reported by: Debra L. Blackwell, PhD, debra.blackwell@cdc.hhs.gov, 301-458-4103; Jacqueline W. Lucas, MPH; Tainya C. Clarke, PhD.

Alternate Text: The figure above shows the percentage of adults aged ≥25 years who were current smokers or current regular drinkers, by education level, in the United States during 2012. Among adults aged ≥25 years in 2012, 26.5% of those who did not graduate from high school and 26.4% who had a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma were current smokers, compared with 19.7% who had attended some college and 7.9% with a college degree. In contrast, 64.2% of college graduates were current regular drinkers, compared with 52.3% of adults with some college, 47.3% of high school graduates or general equivalency diploma recipients, and 35.3% of adults who did not finish high school.