NEW YORK –
US cigarette use fell to a new all-time low last year, with one in 9 adults saying they have smoked, according to a government survey released Thursday. E-cigarette use has risen to 1 in 17 adults.
Preliminary findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are based on surveys of more than 27,000 adults.
Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease and stroke and has long been considered a leading cause of preventable death.
In the mid-1960s, 42% of American adults were smokers. The number has been declining for decades due to cigarette taxes, rising prices for tobacco products, smoking bans, and changes in social acceptance of smoking in public.
Last year, the percentage of adult smokers dropped to about 11%, down from 12.5% in 2020 and 2021. Survey data is sometimes revised after further analysis, and it is hoped that the Centers for Control and CDC Release Final 2021 Data Soon.
E-cigarette use grew to nearly 6 percent last year, up from about 4.5 percent a year earlier, according to the survey.
The increased use of these devices worries Dr. Jonathan Samet, dean of the Colorado College of Public Health. Nicotine addiction has its own health implications, including the risk of high blood pressure and narrowing of the arteries, according to the American Heart Association.
“I think smoking will continue to decline, but it’s not clear whether the prevalence of nicotine addiction will decrease given the rise of electronics,” said Samet, who contributed to the US Surgeon General’s Reports on Tobacco and Health for nearly four decades.
Tobacco and vaping rates are nearly reversed for teens. Just 2 percent of high school students smoked traditional cigarettes last year, but about 14 percent used e-cigarettes, according to data from the CDC.
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