Cigarette smoking rate hits all-time low in the US

The cigarette smoking rate among US adults dropped to another all-time low last year, with one in 11 adults saying they were current smokers, according to government survey data released this week.

Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, and has long been considered the leading cause of preventable death.

The preliminary findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were based on survey responses from more than 24,200 adults. In the survey, CDC officials defined current cigarette smoking as smoking at least 100 cigarettes in a lifetime and currently smoking every day or on some days.

In the mid-1960s, 42 per cent of US adults smoked. The rate has been gradually declining for decades, owing to cigarette taxes, price increases, smoking bans, public education campaigns and changes in the social acceptability of smoking in public.

In 2024, the percentage of current adult smokers fell below 10 per cent for the first time. Last year, it stood at nine per cent, according to the new survey.

The use of electronic cigarettes among adults has been inching up, but held broadly steady in 2025 at about seven per cent.

“The continued decline in smoking is a monumental public health achievement that has saved millions of lives and billions in healthcare costs,” said Yolonda Richardson, president and chief executive of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a Washington, DC-based advocacy and research organisation.

Richardson said current smoking-prevention efforts have been set back by cuts made by President Donald Trump’s administration, which eliminated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health and its “Tips from Former Smokers” advertising campaign.

She cited estimates that the “Tips” campaign alone helped more than one million Americans quit smoking and saved over US$7.3 billion in healthcare costs.

“This critical work must be restored and sustained to continue reducing smoking-related disease, death and healthcare costs nationwide,” Richardson said.

-AP