U.S. can’t decide how many adults use smokeless
Federal officials routinely obfuscate on the subject of smokeless tobacco, and particularly on the number of smokeless users in the United States.
The newest numbers are reported by Dr. Rachel Lipari and Struther Van Horn of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). They say: “In 2014, an estimated 8.7 million people aged 12 or older used smokeless tobacco in the past month.” Their finding is based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).
That number includes adolescents, age 12-17. When including only adults, 18 and older, the NSDUH estimate is 8.1 million in 2014, which contrasts with a 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) adults-only estimate of 5.1 million. The 59 percent higher NSDUH number probably results from the use of different definitions. NSDUH collects information on past-30 day use, whereas current users in NHIS is every day or some days.
The primary conclusion in the Lipari/Van Horn report is that “Smokeless tobacco is not a healthy alternative to cigarette smoking.” This is a non sequitur, as the NSDUH survey includes no information on health.
The government inconsistency also extends to smoking numbers, as I discussed previously here, here and here. The NSDUH estimate of adult U.S. smokers for 2014 was 55.8 million, about 40 percent higher than the NHIS estimate of 40 million for that year.
It is time for federal officials to acknowledge the gross inconsistency of the government’s tobacco use estimates. In all likelihood, the higher NSDUH estimates, which reflect the fact that Americans use tobacco products more irregularly than every day or some days, are closer to reality than those based on the NHIS.
Image by arcticphotoworks
