Learn about Smoking diagnosis at Consumer Reports Health.

Smoking

How common is nicotine addiction?

Nearly 46 million adult Americans smoke cigarettes. That's more than one-fifth of all adult Americans.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smoking and tobacco use.
2007. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/adult/table_2.htm (accessed on 19 November 2008).

Many more smokers are young. Almost a quarter (23 in 100) of high school students smoke.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Youth and tobacco use: current estimates.
December 2006. Available at http://www.cdc.gov (accessed on 19 November 2008).

The good news is that a smaller percentage of the population smokes now than 40 years ago. In 1965, for example, about half of all American men and one-third of all women smoked.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smoking and tobacco use.
2007. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/adult/table_2.htm (accessed on 19 November 2008).

Also, more and more people are successfully quitting. Just over 21 in 100 adults were former smokers in 2004, compared to just under 21 in 100 who were smokers. More adults have quit than are still smoking.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smoking and tobacco use.
2007. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/adult/table_2.htm (accessed on 19 November 2008).

But this downward trend in smoking has slowed down. The proportion of people smoking has gone down only five percent since 1990.

Here are some more figures about smoking.

Women

More men than women smoke. But the gap has closed in the last 40 years.
In 1965, 34 in 100 women smoked, compared to 52 in 100 men.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smoking and tobacco use.
2007. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/adult/table_2.htm (accessed on 19 November 2008).

¹
In 2004, 18.5 in 100 women smoked, compared to 23.4 in 100 men.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smoking and tobacco use.
2007. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/adult/table_2.htm (accessed on 19 November 2008).

¹

Young people

Every day in the United States, about 4,000 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 try their first cigarette.

Source:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Summary of findings from the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.
Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, U.S.A; 2002.

³
If young people continue to smoke at the current rate, about 6.4 million of today's children will die early from a smoking-related disease.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Youth tobacco surveillance: US, 2000.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports. 2001; 50: 1-84.

⁴
More than 6 million young people are exposed to second-hand smoke daily.

Source:
Farrelly MC, Chen J, Thomas KY, et al.
National youth tobacco survey, Legacy first look report 6: Youth exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
American Legacy Foundation, Washington, U.S.A.; 2001.

⁵

Minorities

Smoking is most common among American Indians and Alaska natives. More than 40 in 100 people in these groups smoke.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smoking and tobacco use.
2007. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/adult/table_2.htm (accessed on 19 November 2008).

¹
Smoking is least common among Asian Americans. Only 13 in 100 people from this group smoke.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smoking and tobacco use.
2007. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/adult/table_2.htm (accessed on 19 November 2008).

¹

Smoking, poverty and education

Smoking is more common among adults living below the poverty level. Nearly one-third of people in this group smoke.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smoking and tobacco use.
2007. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/adult/table_2.htm (accessed on 19 November 2008).

¹
Smoking is more common among adults who have less than a high school education. Among this group, more than one-third smoke.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smoking and tobacco use.
2007. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/adult/table_2.htm (accessed on 19 November 2008).

¹

Smoking is the biggest cause of death and illness in the United States .

Source:
American Lung Association.
Trends in tobacco use.
December 2006. Available at http://www.lungusa.org (accessed on 20 November 2008).

⁶

More than half a million Americans die each year from a disease that's caused by smoking.

Source:
Peto R, Lopez AD, Boreham J et al.
Mortality from smoking in developed countries 1950-2000.
June 2006. Available at http://www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk/~tobacco/C2450.pdf (accessed on 19 November 2008).

⁷
One in five deaths in the United States is due to smoking.
If you smoke regularly, you have a 50-50 chance of dying from a disease that's caused by smoking.
The most common diseases caused by smoking are lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. Many other cancers are also linked to smoking.
About 8.6 million people in the United States had a disease caused by smoking in the year 2000.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cigarette smoking - attributable mortality - United States, 2000.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5235a4.htm (accessed on 19 November 2008).

⁸

Sources for the information on this page:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Smoking and tobacco use.2007. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/adult/table_2.htm (accessed on 19 November 2008).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Youth and tobacco use: current estimates.December 2006. Available at http://www.cdc.gov (accessed on 19 November 2008).

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Summary of findings from the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, U.S.A; 2002.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Youth tobacco surveillance: US, 2000.Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports. 2001; 50: 1-84.

Farrelly MC, Chen J, Thomas KY, et al.National youth tobacco survey, Legacy first look report 6: Youth exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.American Legacy Foundation, Washington, U.S.A.; 2001.

American Lung Association.Trends in tobacco use.December 2006. Available at http://www.lungusa.org (accessed on 20 November 2008).

Peto R, Lopez AD, Boreham J et al.Mortality from smoking in developed countries 1950-2000.June 2006. Available at http://www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk/~tobacco/C2450.pdf (accessed on 19 November 2008).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cigarette smoking - attributable mortality - United States, 2000.Available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5235a4.htm (accessed on 19 November 2008).

This information was last updated on May 11, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2009. All rights reserved.

The information on ConsumerReportsHealth.org should not be viewed as a substitute for a consultation with a medical or health professional. The information is meant to enhance communication with your doctor, not replace it. Consumers Union can not be liable for any loss, injury, or other damages related to your use of this information.

Your use of this information is subject to our User Agreement available at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org.