U.S. Adult Smoking Rate Hits 15-Year High

Slightly More Than 20 Percent of Adult Americans Smoke, Report Finds

(AP)  Cigarette smoking rose slightly for the first time in almost 15 years, dashing health officials' hopes that the U.S. smoking rate had moved permanently below 20 percent.

A little under 21 percent of Americans were current cigarette smokers, according to a 2008 national survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's up slightly from the year before, when just 19.8 percent said they were smoking. It also is the first increase in adult smoking since 1994, experts noted.

The increase was so small, it could be just a blip, so health officials and experts say smoking prevalence is flat, not rising. But they are unhappy.

"Clearly, we've hit a wall in reducing adult smoking," said Vince Willmore, spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a Washington, D.C.- based research and advocacy organization.

There's a general perception that smoking is a dying public health danger. Feeding that perception are indoor smoking laws, cigarette taxes and Congress's recent decision to allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco.

But health officials believe gains have been undermined by cuts in state tobacco control campaigns. Also, the tobacco industry has been discounting cigarettes to offset tax increases and keep smokes affordable, Willmore said, citing tobacco industry sales data.

The adult smoking rate has been dropping, in starts and stops, since the mid-1960s when roughly 2 out of 5 U.S. adults smoked. Now it's 1 in 5. However, federal health goals for the year 2010 had hoped to bring the rate down to close to 1 in 10.

Adult smoking hovered at about 21 percent from 2004 to 2006, then dropped a full percentage point in 2007, said Dr. Matthew McKenna, director of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health.

The 2007 drop gave CDC officials hope that U.S. smoking was plummeting again. "Now that appears to be a statistical aberration," McKenna said.

The new survey's results come from in-person interviews of nearly 22,000 U.S. adults.

The study was released Thursday, published in the CDC publication, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Also on Thursday, the CDC released state-by-state results on smoking from a different survey, conducted by telephone, of more than 400,000 adults. West Virginia and Indiana had the highest smoking rates, at about 26 percent, but four other states - Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee - had rates about as high.

Utah had, by far, the lowest smoking rate, with only about 9 percent of Utah residents describing themselves as current smokers.

Many of the states that have the lowest smoking rates are those that have been the most aggressive about indoor smoking laws and about state taxes that drive up the cost of cigarettes, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the CDC's director.

Health officials are optimistic that more and more smokers will be discouraged from lighting up by escalating cigarette taxes, including a 62-cent federal tax that took effect in April. Perhaps the recession will have an impact, too.

"In general, when people have less money, they smoke less," Frieden said. "Time will tell."

--

On the Net:

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

[svshaffer]

And what about high cholesterol. Seems to me that EGGS were once the major killer in this country. Did anyone ever hear why we call physicians "practicing physicians"? Because they don't know it all and never will. I think all of this hoopla is simply "blowing smoke...." figuratively speaking. By the way, I see a killer potato in our future - don't tell the Irish.

[cbsblogger]

I'm not against smoking as it is a very efficient method to weed out weak genes from the gene pool. Anyone stupid enough to spend big money to cut their life short, wrinkle their skin prematurely and make it less healthy obviously is afflicted with a major "STUPID" gene. Too bad the rest of us forced to subsidize their health care. There is enough bad crap out there waiting to get you without helping it along.

[asdfasafasfd]

It wont weed out the weak gene. Think man THINK. You procreate when you are young. Smoking debilitates the oldsters, then kills 'em. Smokers have plenty of time to spawn before succumbing to lung cancer.

[mym82]

Why doesn't everyone mind their own business. If I can pay for illegals insurance I can pay for smokers (especially if their citizens) In the meantime, go ahead and light up. Who the heck wants to die healthy anyways?

[repforbarack]

Smoking is fun!

[jtdev1]

20% of adults smoke

while -------->>>>>>>>>


USA Obesity Rates Reach Epidemic Proportions
58 Million Overweight;
40 Million Obese;
3 Million morbidly Obese

Eight out of 10 over 25's Overweight

78% of American's not meeting basic activity level recommendations

25% completely Sedentary

76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 yrs old since 1990




Looks to me like there are more important issues to deal with...

[asdfasafasfd]

I thought obesity was up over the last few years because people were giving up smoking! I quit and got helluv fat.

[jtdev1]

There is more cancer causing ingredients in the exhaust coming from your car than all the cigarette smoke put together.

Yet no one is doing anything about that....


So enjoy that next traffic jam, That a deep breath and RELAX...

[mitdgreenb]

I am so glad we'll have national healthcare with regulated, subsidized rates. Then I get to pay for all of the health problems caused by smokers. So please light up -- the government will bail you out too!

[jtdev1]

Have another Twinkie too...

Fat people have more health problems... (cost me alot for their unhealthy habbits)

[djberson]

I am more worried about texting, blabbing drivers at this point than second hand smoke. Where are you insurance industry lobbyists??

[unshrub]

They should be paying a lot higher taxes. I don't mind paying more for health insurance to cover those who are sick because of no fault of their own. However, I do object on paying one penny more for the fools that smoke, (or eat too much sugar.)

[jgg000015]

how do you feel about paying for aids patients? And how do you feel about obama now allowing people with aids to immigrate? That's a pretty sweet deal. Actually, smokers pay the highest taxes of anybody, and that money is gobbled up for everything but stopping people from smoking. It's a cash cow for the government. We should be hugging smokers and sending them xmas cards. Aids patients, by comparison, are far more costly to health insurance.

[jc80013-01]

How do you feel about paying for a knee replacement for a marathon runner? How do you feel about paying for lifetime care of a boxer that contracts Alzheimer at age fifty? If smokers and people that eat too much sugar have no rights, what is next? Sin taxes do nothing to fix the problem, as you can see. We just saw a huge tax increase on tobacco and the amount of smokers went up.

[bubbadubba]

Of course.
Every single star in movies smokes now and the little American sheep want to be just like a movie star.
The tobacco companies pay the movie producers to show people smoking.
Great job tobacco companies, you got your bribe money's worth.
Of course the fact that those 20% are total idiots doesn't hurt.