Low SES Populations and Tobacco Use

Characteristics that describe low socioeconomic status (SES) populations include: low-income, those with less than 12 years of education, the medically underserved, the unemployed, and the working poor.

• The greatest single predictor of tobacco use is low socioeconomic status (SES)
• Poverty is directly related to tobacco use
• Low SES communities are less likely to have members who participate in cessation programs or receive cessation advice
• Tobacco advertising is more prominent in low SES communities
• Americans below the poverty line are 40% more likely to smoke than those at or above the poverty line

• Data
• Links