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.
Need help kicking the habit? Check out these 15 ways to quit, from our partner iVillage:
