Latest Findings
Tobacco Use: Smoking
Millions of people in the US still smoke
The decline in smoking has stalled in the past five years.
- In 2005, about 20.9% of adults smoked cigarettes. In 2009 about 20.6% smoked.
Some groups smoke more.
- More men (nearly 24%) than women (about 18%) smoke.
- Nearly 30% of multiracial adults and 23% of American Indian/Alaska Native adults smoke.
- Smoking rates are higher among people with a lower education level. For example, nearly 1 in 2 of all US adults who have a GED smoke; only around 6% of people with a graduate degree smoke.
- About 31% of people who live below the poverty level smoke.
Although the number of teenagers in the US who smoke continues to drop year after year, progress is slowing.
- In 1997, about 36% of high school students smoked cigarettes.
- Between 1997–2003, the rates of smoking among high school students dropped from 36% to about 22%. However, between 2003 to 2009, declines slowed from 22% to 20%. The slowing decline in teen cigarette use suggests that smoking and all the health problems related to smoking will continue as teens become adults.
- In 2009, nearly 1 in 5 high school students (20%) still smoked cigarettes. Monitoring teen smoking is important because most adult smokers (about 80%) began smoking before the age of 18.
States and regions in the US have different smoking rates.
- Utah has the lowest smoking rate; fewer than 10% of adults in Utah smoke cigarettes.
- Kentucky and West Virginia have the highest smoking rates; nearly 26% of adults smoke in both states.
- Fewer people smoke in the West (about 16%), and more people smoke in the Southeast (about 22%) and Midwest (about 23%).
Contact Us:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd
Atlanta, GA 30333 - 800-CDC-INFO
(800-232-4636)
TTY: (888) 232-6348 - cdcinfo@cdc.gov