Smoking Rates Drop
The number of cigarettes sold in the United States in 2005 dropped 4.2% from 2004, the largest 1-year percentage decrease in sales since 1999, figures compiled by the Treasury Department show. "We are pleased to see that the long decline of cigarette consumption is continuing," Cheryl Healton, Dr.P.H., president of the American Legacy Foundation, said in a statement. "We also know that for the first time in the United States, there are more former smokers than current smokers." The National Association of Attorneys General also applauded the numbers, noting that the drop continues "the unprecedented long-term decline in cigarette smoking that began with the settlement of lawsuits" brought by state attorneys general against the major tobacco companies.