2023 BRFSS Survey Results: North Carolina

Tobacco Use

Smoking Status*

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  Total
Respond.^		 Smoke everyday Smoke some days Former smoker Never smoked
N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%)
North Carolina 3,939 344 9.0 7.8-10.4 141 4.2 3.2- 5.5 1,022 24.0 22.2-25.9 2,432 62.8 60.6-65.0
FEMALES 2,201 169 7.8 6.3- 9.7 59 2.5 1.8- 3.5 505 20.7 18.5-23.2 1,468 68.9 66.1-71.6
RACE
Non-Hispanic White 1,315 102 8.5 6.7-10.8 33 2.7 1.7- 4.1 351 25.6 22.5-28.9 829 63.2 59.7-66.6
Non-Hispanic Black 398 28 7.0 4.2-11.4 13 3.3 1.8- 6.1 61 13.3 9.7-18.0 296 76.4 70.6-81.3
Other 466 38 6.6 2.9-14.6 11 1.1 0.4- 2.9 87 12.3 8.3-18.0 330 80.0 72.3-86.0
AGE
18-34 389 12 5.3 2.5-10.9 *** *** *** 48 12.4 8.7-17.3 322 80.8 74.6-85.7
35-44 311 35 11.7 7.9-17.0 12 3.0 1.5- 5.7 61 17.9 13.3-23.8 203 67.4 60.6-73.6
45-54 353 35 8.8 5.6-13.5 *** *** *** 69 17.9 13.2-23.9 239 70.2 63.4-76.2
55-64 409 47 12.8 8.6-18.7 12 2.6 1.1- 6.0 101 25.5 20.0-31.9 249 59.0 52.1-65.6
65-74 400 30 6.6 4.2-10.2 11 3.4 1.5- 7.8 108 26.6 20.7-33.4 251 63.4 56.3-69.9
75+ 310 *** *** *** *** *** *** 114 34.6 27.0-43.2 181 60.0 51.4-67.9
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 148 *** *** *** *** *** *** 29 18.8 11.5-29.3 100 71.4 60.3-80.3
H.S. or G.E.D. 455 49 10.5 6.7-16.1 18 3.9 2.2- 6.9 125 24.1 19.0-30.0 263 61.5 54.8-67.7
Some Post-H.S. 645 77 10.9 8.2-14.3 19 2.2 1.3- 3.7 163 21.4 17.6-25.8 386 65.5 60.5-70.2
College Graduate 945 33 2.4 1.6- 3.7 13 1.9 1.0- 3.8 187 18.1 15.2-21.5 712 77.5 73.9-80.7
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 107 12 10.7 4.8-22.1 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
$15,000- 24,999 187 21 9.0 5.1-15.4 11 5.8 2.3-13.9 52 30.6 21.6-41.4 103 54.7 44.4-64.5
$25,000- 34,999 224 32 12.1 7.6-18.8 *** *** *** 55 23.7 17.0-32.0 131 62.7 53.4-71.1
$35,000- 49,999 261 20 9.2 5.4-15.4 *** *** *** 62 18.4 13.4-24.8 172 69.7 62.2-76.4
$50,000- 74,999 298 16 6.1 3.2-11.2 *** *** *** 65 20.5 15.0-27.5 211 70.9 63.3-77.5
$75,000+ 617 35 7.5 4.4-12.5 *** *** *** 134 19.8 16.0-24.2 439 70.8 65.4-75.7
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 758 75 12.0 9.0-15.9 30 3.1 1.9- 5.0 220 29.1 24.5-34.1 433 55.8 50.7-60.8
No 1,424 94 5.8 4.2- 8.1 29 2.3 1.5- 3.6 279 16.6 14.3-19.2 1,022 75.3 72.1-78.2
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 74 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Non-Veteran 2,126 165 7.9 6.3- 9.8 55 2.5 1.8- 3.6 487 20.2 18.0-22.6 1,419 69.4 66.5-72.1
RURAL-URBAN RESIDENT1
Urban 651 35 5.6 3.7- 8.4 *** *** *** 133 18.8 15.2-23.0 473 74.2 69.6-78.3
Regional City or Suburban County 515 43 9.3 5.9-14.5 14 2.6 1.4- 4.7 121 19.4 15.5-24.1 337 68.7 63.0-73.9
Rural 1,035 91 8.8 6.6-11.6 35 3.6 2.3- 5.7 251 23.4 19.7-27.6 658 64.2 59.7-68.5
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 1,048 79 7.6 5.4-10.7 23 2.4 1.5- 3.8 194 17.5 14.6-20.9 752 72.5 68.5-76.1
Unemployed 103 13 12.0 5.9-22.7 *** *** *** 21 16.6 9.3-27.9 *** *** ***
Retired 657 39 6.6 4.4- 9.9 15 3.4 1.7- 6.4 215 30.5 25.6-35.9 388 59.5 53.9-64.9
Unable to Work 191 23 13.0 7.2-22.3 12 2.3 0.9- 5.4 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Other not in Labor Force 186 14 6.4 3.4-11.9 *** *** *** 23 10.1 6.2-16.0 145 82.6 75.5-88.0
POVERTY LEVEL2
Less than 50% 50 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 198 21 7.2 4.3-11.8 13 3.2 1.5- 6.5 49 30.3 21.5-40.9 115 59.3 49.1-68.8
101% to 150% 153 18 10.9 6.0-18.9 *** *** *** 40 19.1 12.5-28.1 *** *** ***
151% to 200% 169 20 13.3 7.6-22.3 *** *** *** 48 29.1 21.1-38.7 96 54.6 44.6-64.2
More than 200% 1,113 69 7.2 5.0-10.3 19 2.0 1.2- 3.4 244 19.4 16.5-22.7 781 71.4 67.5-75.0
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 734 64 8.6 6.0-12.1 30 3.5 2.2- 5.5 168 21.3 16.8-26.6 472 66.7 61.1-71.8
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 612 53 7.9 5.6-11.0 14 2.7 1.4- 5.3 147 21.8 17.7-26.5 398 67.6 62.3-72.5
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 855 52 7.4 5.0-10.8 15 1.9 1.1- 3.3 190 19.7 16.6-23.2 598 71.0 66.8-74.9
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 647 39 7.0 4.7-10.4 11 2.3 1.2- 4.4 159 21.3 17.7-25.5 438 69.3 64.5-73.7
2nd Quartile 569 37 7.0 4.2-11.3 15 2.7 1.4- 4.9 122 19.7 15.9-24.2 395 70.6 65.3-75.4
3rd Quartile 572 57 9.3 6.7-12.8 14 2.2 1.2- 4.0 130 22.4 17.8-27.8 371 66.1 60.6-71.2
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 413 36 9.6 5.8-15.3 19 3.7 1.9- 7.0 94 17.8 12.6-24.5 264 68.9 61.2-75.7

Back to Tobacco Use.

*Data in this table were derived from the tobacco use questions 1 and 2.
Overall smoking prevalence estimates can be obtained by adding 'Smoke everyday' and 'Smoke some days' rates.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to changes in the weighting methodology and other factors, results from 2023
are NOT comparable to 2010 and earlier years.

***The estimate was suppressed because it did not meet statistical reliability standards. See BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for more details.

1Based on U.S Census Bureau population estimates at the county level. Please see the BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

2Based on 2023 U.S Census Bureau poverty threshold incomes. Please see the BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

3NC Dept. of Commerce County Tier Classification, based on respondent’s county of residence.
Please see the BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

4Quartile of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index
(https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/placeandhealth/svi/index.html) for respondent’s county of residence.
Please see the BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

^Use caution in interpreting cell sizes less than 50, % = Percentage, C.I.(95%) = Confidence Interval (at 95 percent probability level).
Percentages are weighted to population characteristics and therefore cannot be calculated exactly from the numbers in this table.

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This page was generated on 07APR25.

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