U.S. Smoking Rate Declines

A new CDC report reveals that the smoking rate for adults in the United States dropped to 18% in 2012.

June 19, 2013

ATLANTA – Smoking is on the decline among U.S. adults, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Associated Press reports. In 2012, around 18% of adults surveyed said they smoked. 

While the U.S. smoking rate has dipped for years, it stalled out at the 20% to 21% mark for the past seven years, although the rate did decrease to 19% in 2011. There’s some debate that the 2011 rate might have been a statistical bump.

The CDC is currently analyzing its 2012 figures to determine why the dip happened. The agency’s 2012 anti-smoking campaign used graphic images to encourage smokes to quit. The agency says that 200,000 smokers phoned the call lines about quitting smoking. Earlier this year, the CDC released another round of smoking-cessation advertisements. 

The report found that adults age 65 and older smoked at a 9% rate, while younger adults clocked in at 20%. More men than women said they currently smoked. The current report did not ask teens about smoking.

“This is a real decline in smoking in America. I'm ecstatic about it. It's proof that we are winning the battle against tobacco,” said Patrick Reynolds, executive director for the Foundation for a Smokefree America. Reynolds pointed to increases in the federal and state tobacco taxes, more public smoking bans and additional funds for smoking prevention and stopping initiatives as contributing to the drop in adults smoking.

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