US adult cigarette smoking rate reaches new low

The CDC, in partnership with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, released a report showing US adult smoking rates have reached a new low. Researchers analyzed data from the 2017 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). In 2017, an estimated 47.4 million U.S. adults (19.3%) currently used any tobacco product, including cigarettes; cigars, cigarillos, or filtered little cigars; electronic cigarettes; smokeless tobacco; and pipes, water pipes, or hookahs. Among current tobacco product users, 86.7% (41.1 million) smoked combustible tobacco products, and 19.0% (9.0 million) used ≥2 tobacco products. Considerable progress has been made in reducing cigarette smoking among U.S. adults over the past half century: an estimated 14.0% of U.S. adults (34.3 million) were current cigarette smokers in 2017, representing a 67% decline since 1965.