Fewer Smokers In The U.S.: CDC

By Lindsey Tanner, The Associated Press

CHICAGO -- Fewer U.S. adults are smoking and those who do light up are smoking fewer cigarettes each day, but the trend is weaker than the government had hoped.

According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Tuesday, 19.3 percent of adults said they smoked last year, down from about 21 percent in 2005. The rate for smoking 30 or more cigarettes daily dropped to about 8 percent from almost 13 percent during the same time period.

The report only compared last year with 2005 and says the decline means 3 million fewer adults were smoking. The CDC earlier reported that the 2009 rate was 20.6 percent and rates fluctuated during the five-year period.

The 5-year decline was much slower than a drop seen over the previous 40 years, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Atlanta-based agency. He said any decline is a good step, but also said tobacco use remains a significant health burden.

"About half of all smokers will be killed by tobacco if they don't quit," Frieden said during a news briefing.

"You don't have to be a heavy smoker or a long-time smoker to get a smoking-related disease or have a heart attack or asthma attack," Frieden said. "The sooner you quit smoking, the sooner your body can begin to heal."

The 2010 numbers are based partly on face-to-face interviews with almost 27,000 Americans aged 18 and older.

Declines in federal and state taxes on cigarettes and new clean air laws are among reasons for the drop, said Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the CDC's office on smoking and health.

Those positive trends have been offset by efforts from the tobacco industry, including offering discounts to consumers, McAfee said.

If the slowed rate of decline continues, adult smoking rates will reach 17 percent by 2020, far higher than the government's goal of no more than 12 percent, the CDC report said.

Government efforts to further reduce smoking rates include proposed graphic cigarette packaging labels, which are being challenged in court by the tobacco industry.

Frieden said evidence from states with strong anti-smoking programs show that tobacco control can be effective. Rates are far below the national average in states with the strongest tobacco control programs, he noted. States with the lowest rates are Utah, at 9 percent, and California, 12 percent, the CDC report found.

In a statement, American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown said the report shows some successes but also continued disparities. Smoking was most common among low-income, less educated adults and among American Indians and Alaska natives.

Matthew Meyers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a Washington-based advocacy group, said in a statement that it's too soon to declare victory when nearly one in five adults still smokes.

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Comments

[dpgaff]

03:56 PM on 09/17/2011

The more junk science that is passed around, the less government advice I believe. America listened to the "do this don't do that" about food and now the government says that we have an obesity problem.
The " greatest generation " is passing and so less cigarettes are sold. Cigarette smoking was popular with them.
The cost to the economy caused by attacking cigarette smoke isn't considered. Smokers avoid public places, doctors and hospitals.
I think that It's the car exhaust fumes killing us all.

[WykydRed]

09:40 PM on 09/07/2011

Ooooh. "Fat people!" Ooooh. "Smokers!" Let's denigrate them! Let's tell them they can't have jobs! Let's fire them and "drug test" them for something that the Anti-Smokers and the F.D.A. was told by 3 courts, "No. You CANNOT re-define nicotine as a drug. End. Of. Story."

This IS how things got ugly in Germany! Pick a prejudice, make it legal and free and open to express hate for it, make up lies and tell them as sturdy truth, and very soon, everyone will be free to be a hateful, vindictive bigot. Make that bigotry popular! Make sure hospitals and staff are on your side! Then, then, start "eliminating" the "unwanted enemy." Good thing the "kids" see what the bigots are doing and just how stupid it is. When those pictures on packs come out, we'll all laugh, because the CDC has to search long and hard word-wide to find people who have actually died that way. From cigarettes. That's why they have to Photoshop pictures and use actors. And the rebellious aren't stupid. But they do hit back harder.

[SavEcig]

07:00 PM on 09/07/2011

I switched to electronic cigarettes, last year. No more second hand smoke, no tar, and no more smelling like an ashtray. Also, no more cigarette tax and no more smoking ban worries. Now I help others make the switch.
http://www.savecig.com

[dpgaff]

12:54 PM on 09/07/2011

The CDC hasn't asked me any questions. I would lie anyway. If it is the doctors asking the question, hasn't the government noticed yet that cigarette smokers avoid doctors and hospitals?
In the early 80s, so many doctors became anti-smoking freaks that smokers got sick of it. We know it is all about the taxes.

[WykydRed]

09:47 PM on 09/07/2011

True. I refuse to go to doctors anymore. Haven't for 23 years now. Now that hospitals went non-smoking and will only hire bigots, I won't go near one! Unless I have my e-cigs with me, because even THEY cannot deny there is NOTHING in vapor, so they cannot possibly affect outsiders. It worries ALL of us that anti-smoking bigots are in hospitals. People are fearful they will be allowed to die without any kind of treatment, or that the staff will kill them. That is what I'm getting from people cancelling their insurance policies. They see murder on a huge scale coming. A lot of them remember what was done to the "mentally incapable" under the Nazi regime, and they know how easy it is to bring a like bigot into the fold. They're more willing to die of their own health problems than pay insurance money to be put into the hands of the hateful. Welcome to New America!

[taxisdaddy]

07:09 AM on 09/07/2011

Why would declines in federal and state taxes on cigarettes result in a reduction in smoking? Wouldn't that be the logical result of an increase in taxes?

[stape45]

10:22 PM on 09/06/2011

I became part of that "fewer" statistic, 5 1/2 years ago. A little too late, though. (COPD).

[banana republican]

08:21 PM on 09/06/2011

I was in New York a few weeks ago. Don't smoke, but noticed cigarettes are nine (9) bucks a pack there. You'd think that would make New Yorkers healthier, but fact is, I saw more fat people on average than anywhere else I've ever been. I noticed the price of Twinkies hasn't gone up.