Disparities in current cigarette smoking prevalence by type of disability, 2009-2011

Smoking, the leading cause of disease and death in the United States, has been linked to a number of health conditions including cancer and cardiovascular disease. While people with a disability have been shown to be more likely to report smoking, little is known about the prevalence of smoking by type of disability, particularly for adults younger than 50 years of age.

We used data from the 2009-2011 National Health Interview Survey to estimate the prevalence of smoking by type of disability and to examine the association of functional disability type and smoking among adults aged 18-49 years.

Adults with a disability were more likely than adults without a disability to be current smokers (38.8% vs. 20.7%, p<0.001). Among adults with disabilities, the prevalence of smoking ranged from 32.4% (self-care difficulty) to 43.8% (cognitive limitation). When controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, having a disability was associated with statistically significantly higher odds of current smoking (adjusted odds ratio = 1.57, 95% confidence interval 1.40, 1.77).

The prevalence of current smoking for adults was higher for every functional disability type than for adults without a disability. By understanding the association between smoking and disability type among adults younger than 50 years of age, resources for cessation services can be better targeted during the ages when increased time for health improvement can occur.