Trends and Demographic Differences in the Incidence and Mean Age of Starting to Smoke Cigarettes Regularly, National Health Interview Survey, 1997-2018.

The incidence of starting to smoke cigarettes regularly decreased dramatically at all ages during the study period, which suggests a positive impact of current tobacco control measures. For evaluating trends in starting to smoke cigarettes regularly, incidence can be a more sensitive indicator of temporal change than mean age. Differences in smoking incidence by demographic subgroup suggest that additional opportunities exist to further reduce the incidence of starting to smoke cigarettes regularly.