Demographic aspects of the low-yield cigarette: considerations in the evaluation of health risk.

Control data from a large-scale case-control study of tobacco-related diseases were analyzed to characterize variables associated with cigarette preference (or type of cigarette smoked). Age, sex, race, education, and religion were found to have a strong influence on the choice of cigarette according to tar and nicotine yield. Data on the amount and duration of cigarette smoking also were evaluated by brand history to determine whether tar yield was associated with these variables. Women smoking cigarettes in the low-tar categories tended to smoke fewer cigarettes per day than women smoking cigarettes in the higher tar categories. A similar trend was not found for men. As might be expected, only 2% of the men and 3% of the women over the age of 40 smoked low-tar cigarettes (less than 10 mg tar) for 10 years or more.