Fewer people are smoking, according to a new report from Gallup.
One in five adults (20 percent) said that they smoked in the last week in the new report, which is down slightly from last year when 22 percent of adults said that they smoked in the last week.
In addition, fewer young adults are smoking -- rates dropped to 25 percent this past year from 34 percent between 2001 and 2005 for people ages 18 to 29, Gallup researchers found.
"This may reflect a decline in smoking among teens and other minors -- the ages at which a lifetime of smoking often starts -- and in any case increases the likelihood that smoking rates will continue to fall in the years ahead," the Gallup researchers wrote in their report.
This thinking falls in line with a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, which showed that smoking rates have decreased to 15 percent from 17.2 percent, between 2009 and 2011, among high-schoolers.
Also in the new Gallup study, smoking has decreased from 28 percent to 23 percent among 30 to 49-year-olds between this past year and 2001 to 2005. However, smoking rates have increased ever-so-slightly among people ages 65 and older between 2001-2005 and now, going from 11 percent to 12 percent.
Both men and women have decreased their smoking, with 23 percent of men reporting smoking in the last year, compared with 27 percent between 2001 and 2005. For women, 19 percent reported smoking in the last year, compared with 24 percent between 2001 and 2005.
And the Midwest still leads with the highest smoking rate, at 25 percent, although it has experienced a slight decrease from 2001 to 2005, when the smoking rate was 27 percent. The South also experienced a similar slight decrease in smoking rates over that same time period, from 25 percent to 23 percent today.
The West experienced a big decrease in smoking rates over that time period, going from 22 percent to 16 percent today. Same with the East -- falling from 27 percent to 19 percent today.
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Certain foods make cigarettes taste tasty -- and others not so much. Researchers at Duke University asked smokers to list the foods that made them savor the flavor of cigs. Seventy percent reported that red meat, coffee and alcohol enhanced lighting up. On the flip side, about half the group said good-for-you foods, like fruits, vegetables, juice and milk, made cigarettes taste lousy.
"Loading up on fruits and vegetables even before quitting might help cigarettes seem less appealing," says F. Joseph McClernon, Ph.D., director of Duke's Health Behavior Neuroscience Research Program. Can't hurt to have your taste buds on your side.
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Certain foods make cigarettes taste tasty -- and others not so much. Researchers at Duke University asked smokers to list the foods that made them savor the flavor of cigs. Seventy percent reported that red meat, coffee and alcohol enhanced lighting up. On the flip side, about half the group said good-for-you foods, like fruits, vegetables, juice and milk, made cigarettes taste lousy.
"Loading up on fruits and vegetables even before quitting might help cigarettes seem less appealing," says F. Joseph McClernon, Ph.D., director of Duke's Health Behavior Neuroscience Research Program. Can't hurt to have your taste buds on your side.
Certain foods make cigarettes taste tasty -- and others not so much. Researchers at Duke University asked smokers to list the foods that made them savor the flavor of cigs. Seventy percent reported that red meat, coffee and alcohol enhanced lighting up. On the flip side, about half the group said good-for-you foods, like fruits, vegetables, juice and milk, made cigarettes taste lousy.
"Loading up on fruits and vegetables even before quitting might help cigarettes seem less appealing," says F. Joseph McClernon, Ph.D., director of Duke's Health Behavior Neuroscience Research Program. Can't hurt to have your taste buds on your side.
More from iVillage:
Sleep Deprived No More! Cleveland Clinic Experts Answer Your Top 10 Qs7 Foods That Lower CholesterolBest Ways to Treat Depression Without Drugs
A National Youth Tobacco Survey study released Thursday reports a 1.4 percent decrease in smoking among high school students, from 17.2 percent in 2009 to...
Over the last three years, we've made significant strides in our fight against tobacco, and our efforts are paying off. But today's report is an important reminder to our nation that we have a lot more work to do to make tobacco death and disease part of our past.
You're almost there. You want to quit. In fact, 80 percent of your brain is sure you can. But 20 percent insists that you can't. How do you make it over to the other side without falling SPLAT on your face?
There's a killer at large in our communities linked to 1 out of 5 deaths. The killer is tobacco, the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
Why anyone born after the first warnings were put on cig packages would smoke is a mystery to me and why we insure their privilege to do with our premiums is another.
mateoconifer: Why anyone born after the first warnings were put on
I grew up in a household of smoking parents but thankfully never started myself. I remember long trips in the car and the smell of ash trays. They each smoked 2-3 packs a day – chain smoking.
Dad picked up the habit in the Navy and only stopped smoking after his first heart attack at age 55. His recovery was made more difficult since Mom continued to smoke heavily, and Dad soon suffered a second attack and died. I blame that largely on smoking.
Even Dad’s death didn’t cause Mom to quit smoking, which shows just how addictive the habit is. Mom eventually was forced to stop when she developed emphysema and had to be put on oxygen. She moved about with a portable oxygen tank on her walker or wheelchair, and I watched her suffer through the last several years of her life. They say it’s like breathing through a soda straw. How awful.
I just do not understand the concept: I am going to pay lots of money to use something that is eventually going to kill me!! This is not just smoking is for every other drug out there.
Deisi_Silva: I just do not understand the concept: I am going
I'm so glad I never started. I know how hard it is to quit, I've witnessed my mother quitting once for six months but eventually she went back to the pack.
And it killed her : (
gmcinahuff: I'm so glad I never started. I know how hard
Remember when the heads of the tobacco companies all testified before Congress that they didi not believe smoking was bad for you......... Profits before people.... the Republican way.
Kenz300: Remember when the heads of the tobacco companies all testified
Sigh. I do miss a nice butt every now and then. But cancer cured me of my desires. I wish everyone would quit so they can avoid what I've been through.
Carl_Caroli: Sigh. I do miss a nice butt every now and
WOW, It's amazing to read that smoking rates have dropped since 2009. OH WAIT!!! Isn't that when the government decided push the "Clean in-door air" laws? No wonder cigarette sales have gone down, and prices have gone up. I used to smoke 2 packs a day, 1 for the 8 hours of work, and 1 for the other 10 hours I was awake. Now I only smoke 1 pack a day. Did I choose to quit/slow down NO!!! the government MADE ME!!! And since they lost that revenue they had to increase the price of cigarettes to compensate, so now the "Social Smoker" doesn't buy anymore.
nittany182: WOW, It's amazing to read that smoking rates have dropped
Did they think of the possibility of the cost of cigarettes in these economic times may be having an effect of slowing people's smoking? Or altering their habits? I know I changed to cigars after the price of cigarettes went thru the roof. My little filtered cigars cost about 20% as much as my previous brand of cigarettes. Granted the tobacco is different and they taste bad but I still get my nicotine fix even though I think about quiting every day.
cqdeed: Did they think of the possibility of the cost of
Posted: 08/23/2012 3:59 pm EDT