Table 1.

Characteristics of Adult MEPS-NHIS (2001 and 2002) and BRFSS (1998-2000) Medicaid Recipients With Data on Smoking Status^a

Characteristic	MEPS-NHIS		BRFSS
	Nonsmokers (n = 768)	Ever Smokers (n = 820)	Nonsmokers (n = 7,701)	Ever Smokers (n = 8,500)
Sex
Male	21	33	23	32
Female	79	67	77	68
Race/ethnicity
White	32	60	32	58
Black	34	23	28	21
Hispanic	26	12	35	17
Asian	6	2	3	1
Other	1	3	1	3
Mean age, y	36	40	36	38
Region of residence
Northeast	20	19	36	29
Midwest	21	24	11	18
South	35	38	28	28
West	24	18	25	25
Weight category
Underweight	2	3	3	3
Normal	24	31	33	37
Overweight	36	31	29	30
Obese	36	34	30	26
Missing data	2	1	6	3
Education
Less than high school graduate	35	34	33	38
High school graduate	56	58	61	58
College graduate	9	8	6	4
Marital status
Married	34	24	37	32
Widowed	4	3	5	4
Divorced/separated	24	35	18	27
Single	39	38	40	37

Abbreviations: MEPS, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey; NHIS, National Health Interview Survey; BRFSS, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

^a All data are percentages, except age.