Proportion of Adults Who Are Current Smokers (LGHC Indicator)

This is a source dataset for a Let's Get Healthy California indicator at https://letsgethealthy.ca.gov/. Adult smoking prevalence in California, males and females aged 18+, starting in 2012. Caution must be used when comparing the percentages of smokers over time as the definition of ‘current smoker’ was broadened in 1996, and the survey methods were changed in 2012. Current cigarette smoking is defined as having smoked at least 100 cigarettes in lifetime and now smoking every day or some days. Due to the methodology change in 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend not conducting analyses where estimates from 1984 – 2011 are compared with analyses using the new methodology, beginning in 2012. This includes analyses examining trends and changes over time. (For more information, please see the narrative description.) The California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an on-going telephone survey of randomly selected adults, which collects information on a wide variety of health-related behaviors and preventive health practices related to the leading causes of death and disability such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and injuries. Data are collected monthly from a random sample of the California population aged 18 years and older. The survey has been conducted since 1984 by the California Department of Public Health in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2012, the survey methodology of the California BRFSS changed significantly so that the survey would be more representative of the general population. Several changes were implemented: 1) the survey became dual-frame, with both cell and landline random-digit dial components, 2) residents of college housing were eligible to complete the BRFSS, and 3) raking or iterative proportional fitting was used to calculate the survey weights. Due to these changes, estimates from 1984 – 2011 are not comparable to estimates from 2012 and beyond. Center for Disease Control and Policy (CDC) and recommend not conducting analyses where estimates from 1984 – 2011 are compared with analyses using the new methodology, beginning in 2012. This includes analyses examining trends and changes over time.Current cigarette smoking was defined as having smoked at least 100 cigarettes in lifetime and now smoking every day or some days. Prior to 1996, the definition of current cigarettes smoking was having smoked at least 100 cigarettes in lifetime and smoking now.

California has led the nation in reducing smoking.[1] California has been a national leader in efforts to reduce smoking. As a major contributor to a range of chronic diseases, reducing smoking is a priority for living well. Smoking rates vary considerably by gender, race/ethnicity, income, and geography. By reducing these disparities and striving to achieve the 2022 target to bring the state’s overall smoking rate to 9 percent, California can continue to be a leader in efforts to lower smoking rates.[1] Learn more at [Let's Get Healthy California](https://letsgethealthy.ca.gov/goals/living-well/reducing-adult-tobacco-use/) [1] Let’s Get Health California Task Force. (2012). Let’s Get Healthy California Task Force Final Report. Let’s Get Healthy CA Task Force. http://www.chhs.ca.gov/pages/LGHCTF.aspx