Objective: To investigate the association of age, period, and cohort with the changing pattern of cigarette smoking among youth and young adults for better planning tobacco control in the United States.
Methods: Age-period-cohort analysis of the 1990-2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data.
Results: Rates of lifetime and 30-day smoking for adolescents fluctuated between 1990 and 1996 before they declined; the same rates for young adults progressively increased until 2002 before declining. There were significant cohort effects on changes in the prevalence rates of cigarette smoking.
Conclusions: The cohort effects on smoking underscore the need for sustained tobacco control policies.