US Cigarette Smoking Rate Near Historical Low

Cigarette smoking rate among Americans is near an all time low, Gallup’s latest update on cigarette smoking finds.

The update is part of Gallup’s annual Consumption Habits survey, conducted during July 3-27.

Twelve percent of U.S. adults who were surveyed said they smoked cigarettes in the past week, similar to the 11 percent measured a year ago but significantly lower than any other year in Gallup’s nearly 80-year trend.

Gallup said that when they first asked about cigarette smoking in 1944, 41 percent of U.S. adults said they smoked. A decade later, a historical high of 45 percent was reached. From then, smoking rates gradually descended, falling permanently below 30 percent in 1989 and 20 percent in 2015.

The decline in smoking has come as more Americans likely heed the warnings about the health dangers associated with cigarette smoking and as most public places prohibit it. The survey finds 76 percent of U.S. adults saying cigarettes are “very harmful” to people who use them

A major reason for the decline in smoking is that fewer young adults are currently smoking cigarettes when compared to previous decades.

Not only has the percentage of U.S. smokers declined, but so has the amount of smoking among current smokers.

In addition to asking about cigarette smoking, the poll asked about vaping, or e-cigarette smoking. Vaping is now more common than cigarette smoking among young adults. But marijuana usage surpasses both of those products among young adults, the poll has found.

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