WASHINGTON, D.C. – It’s a good news, bad news kind of report.
The good news: cigarette usage has hit its lowest point in eight decades, reports from Gallup say.
The bad news: cigarette usage continues, and the growth of e-type cigarettes continues to remain steady each year.
“Currently, 11% of U.S. adults say they have smoked cigarettes in the past week, matching the historical low measured in 2022 (and nearly matched at 12% in 2023),” Gallup said.
“Records show that in 1944, 41% of U.S. adults said they smoked.
“The current smoking rate is about half as large as it was a decade ago and one-third as large as it was in the late 1980s,” Gallup said.
The company said a major reason for the decline was that “cigarette smoking has plummeted among young adults, who typically had been the most likely age group to smoke. Over the past three years, an average of 6% of adults under age 30 say they have smoked cigarettes in the past week, compared with 35% of young adults in 2001 through 2003 surveys.”
Young adults, record show, are now less likely than other age groups to smoke cigarettes, as 13% of those between the ages of 30 and 49, 18% of those aged 50 to 64 and 9% of those 65 and older say they smoke.
While vaping is less common than cigarette smoking, (about 7% of U.S. adults said they have smoked electronic cigarettes or “vaped” in the past week). The percentage of vapers has been steady at 6%-8% of U.S. adults in Gallup polls since 2019.
Ena Banduka is a political journalist focused on health and legal issues. Banduka previously worked as a paralegal. She can be reached at ena. banduka@swoknews.com