The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week that the cigarette smoking rate among U.S. adults has reached another all-time low, with 1 in 11 adults identifying as current smokers.
The preliminary findings drew from responses provided by more than 24,200 adults surveyed by CDC officials. The agency defined current cigarette smoking as having smoked at least 100 cigarettes over a lifetime and continuing to smoke either every day or on some days.
In the mid-1960s, 42% of U.S. adults were smokers. The rate has declined steadily over the past six decades as federal, state, and local governments implemented a series of tobacco-control policies and public attitudes shifted away from smoking.
Public health officials say the long-term drop stems from that combination of policy and cultural changes. Cigarette taxes and tobacco product price increases have raised the cost of smoking. Smoking bans in public spaces and workplaces have restricted where smokers can light up. Public education campaigns have documented the health risks of tobacco use, and changes in social acceptability have made smoking in public less common.
Cigarette smoking remains a risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke, and it has long been identified as the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
AP reporter Mike Stobbe covered the survey results for the wire service, with AP audio correspondent Lisa Dwyer reporting on the downward trend.