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Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 221 -- Smoking.

Smoking Down Overall, Up Among Young Males-

Smoking. It's gross. It's bad for your health. It makes clothes and curtains and furniture stink. These days, it's also less acceptable, socially, than it was in the 1920s or 1960s. No longer can people light up on airplanes, in theaters, in classrooms, and even many restaurants. More and more, the collective media display cigarette smokers as "dumb white trash," rather than glamorous and cool. And public perception has generally followed suit. It's no longer "lame" or "square" or unacceptable to give a nearby smoker a dirty look or cough conspicuously in disgust when one passes.

Many dozens of localities have subsequently passed stronger and stronger smoking bans over the years. And don't forget about the multi-billion dollar lawsuits against the cigarette companies, nor the restrictions on advertising and distribution.

Smokers, in many ways, have become second-class citizens, and most Americans seem to be pretty much okay with that. Smoking is just that obnoxious.

Smoking rates, thusly, fell dramatically in the 20th century:

Nearly every group has seen smoking rates fall:

This is good news.

Oddly enough, though, young males, and young white males in particular, have seen their smoking rates level off (and even rise) in recent years, following initial dramatic declines:

College-age white males now smoke more than any other demographic group.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics (.pdf).

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Posted by Will Franklin · 20 November 2005 09:59 AM

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