Adult smokers in the United States are smoking fewer cigarettes, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The proportion of smokers who said they smoked 30 or more cigarettes daily decreased from 12.7% to 8.3%, according to CDC data for 2005-2010. Also, more smokers said they were smoking nine or fewer cigarettes daily, an increase from 16.4% to 21.8%. The number of adult smokers also declined from 20.9% to 19.3%, representing nearly 3 million fewer smokers.
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As reports state that smoking is decreasing nationwide, experts begin to ponder what might lower it even further.
Even as smoking prevalence has decreased overall, the data varies according to race/ethnicity, age, level of education, region, and poverty status (MMWR 2011;60:1-6). Smoking prevalence was lowest among Hispanics (12.5%) and Asians (9.2%), seniors (9.5%), those with a graduate degree (6.3%), and residents of the West (15.9%). The highest prevalence was among American Indians/Alaska Natives (31.4%), adults aged 25-44 years (22%), General Education Development (GED) certificate recipients (45.2%), and residents of the Midwest (21.8%). Categorized by poverty status, 18.3% of those at or above the poverty level smoke, compared with 28.9% of those below the poverty level.
Although smoking appears to be decreasing nationwide, the CDC said the rates have decreased more slowly in the past 5 years. A lack of investment in antismoking campaigns is one of the biggest contributing factors to the slow decline, according to Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health.
"If states were to dedicate more like the 10%-15% that is recommended of these revenues for tobacco control, they’d be fully funding these programs and we’d be seeing a much more rapid decline in tobacco use in our society," Dr. McAfee said during a press briefing. Currently, states are contributing about 2% of their tobacco-related revenues to antismoking efforts.
Dr. McAfee added that states that invest in antismoking programs reap significant health care savings. For example, California has invested about $2.8 billion in antismoking efforts since 1988. During that same period, the state has saved nearly $86 billion in related health care costs and saw adult smoking rates decrease by about 50%, Dr. McAfee said. Smoking costs the United States $193 million annually, nearly equally divided between medical costs and loss of productivity, according to the CDC.
In addition to increased financial support for antismoking initiatives, the CDC recommends that more states place higher taxes on tobacco products and increase smoke-free policies and clinical interventions. As of 2011, 26 states and the District of Columbia have comprehensive smoke-free laws, according to the CDC.
Another 18 states have smoking restrictions at work sites, in restaurants, or in bars. Also, 25 states have added clean air laws that make smoking in public more difficult, Dr. McAfee said.
The report is based on data from the CDC’s 2005-2010 National Health Interview Surveys and the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. The analysis does not include data for underage smokers.