Fewer Americans Are Smoking, and Those Who Do Puff Less - September 16th, 2011
By Timothy W. Martin
The number of adult Americans who smoke is on the decline again after several years of little change, and those who smoke are puffing fewer cigarettes a day, new government stats show.
But smoking rates are still far higher than federal goals, U.S. health officials said.
An estimated 19.3% of U.S. adults (or 45.3 million people) smoke, according to 2010 data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s roughly 3 million fewer smokers than there were five years ago, and compares to an adult smoking rate of 20.9% in 2005 and 20.6% in 2009.
Meanwhile, there are fewer heavy smokers, while young, newer smokers puff less. The percentage of those who smoke more than a pack-and-a-half per day dropped to 8.3% in 2010 from 12.7% in 2005, while those who smoke nine or fewer cigarettes daily rose to 21.8% from 16.4% during the same time period. Daily smokers on average puffed 15.1 cigarettes per day in 2010, a slight drop from 16.7 in 2005.
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