From 1965 to 2019, the prevalence of cigarette smoking in the U.S. has decreased from about ** percent to ** percent. Cigarette smoking is a known risk factor for many types of cancers, including lung cancer, bladder cancer and pancreatic cancer. Globally, tobacco use is one of the greatest risk factors for preventable diseases. There are several resources in the United States to help individuals quit smoking, including websites, hotlines, medications and text message programs. Smoking prevalence globally Globally, smoking prevalence has also decreased, and is projected to continue to decline through 2025. North America comprises a small percentage of the world’s cigarette smokers. The highest prevalence of tobacco smoking can be found in Europe, followed by the Western Pacific. In the past few decades, there have been stronger efforts made to reduce cigarette consumption in many parts of the world. Cigarettes are taxed separately in many countries and are often required to add health warnings to cigarette packaging for consumers. Smoking cessation measures Smoking prevention measures cover a broad range of targeted cigarette reduction. Common tobacco control policies include warning labels, advertising bans, and smoke-free environments. As of 2022, around ** percent of the world population lived in a place where there were warning labels on tobacco products.

Historical chart and dataset showing U.S. smoking rate by year from 2000 to 2022.

Per capita cigarette consumption in the United States has decreased in recent years, with smokers in 2015 consuming an average of 1,078 cigarettes per capita. In total, there were around 267 billion cigarettes consumed in the U.S. that year. Cigarette consumption in the U.S. has decreased due to public policies limiting where people can smoke, higher taxes on cigarettes, and increased awareness by the general public of the health risks associated with smoking.

Smokers in the U.S.

Even though cigarette consumption has decreased, there are still around 38 million people in the U.S. who regularly smoke cigarettes. This is around 15.5 percent of the entire population. However, in the year 2000, 23 percent of the population smoked, a significant difference from present day figures. Smoking remains more common among males than females and rates of smoking among adolescents have decreased.

Health risks

Smoking has been proven to increase the risk of a variety of diseases and is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. Smoking harms almost every organ in the body and increases a person’s chance of developing lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke. For example, men who smoke are 25 times more likely to develop lung cancer than men who don’t smoke. Furthermore, around 81 percent of all deaths from lung, bronchus and trachea cancer can be attributed to cigarette smoking.

United States US: Smoking Prevalence: Total: % of Adults: Aged 15+ data was reported at 21.800 % in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 22.300 % for 2015. United States US: Smoking Prevalence: Total: % of Adults: Aged 15+ data is updated yearly, averaging 23.900 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 31.400 % in 2000 and a record low of 21.800 % in 2016. United States US: Smoking Prevalence: Total: % of Adults: Aged 15+ data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Prevalence of smoking is the percentage of men and women ages 15 and over who currently smoke any tobacco product on a daily or non-daily basis. It excludes smokeless tobacco use. The rates are age-standardized.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

As of 2023, the U.S. states with the highest smoking rates included West Virginia, Tennessee, and Louisiana. In West Virginia, around 20 percent of all adults smoked as of this time. The number of smokers in the United States has decreased over the past decades. Who smokes? The smoking rates for both men and women have decreased for many years, but men continue to smoke at higher rates than women. As of 2021, around 13 percent of men were smokers compared to 10 percent of women. Concerning race and ethnicity, smoking is least prevalent among Asians with just five percent of this population smoking compared to 13 percent of non-Hispanic whites. Health impacts of smoking The negative health impacts of smoking are vast. Smoking increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and many different types of cancers. For example, smoking is estimated to be attributable to 81 percent of all deaths from lung cancer among adults 30 years and older in the United States. Smoking is currently the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.

As of 2022, around **** million adults in the United States were current cigarette smokers. Although this figure is still high, it is significantly lower compared to previous years. For example, in 2011, there were almost ** million smokers in the United States. Smoking demographics in the U.S. Although smoking in the U.S. has decreased greatly over the past few decades, it is still more common among certain demographics than others. For example, men are more likely to be current cigarette smokers than women, with ** percent of men smoking in 2021, compared to ** percent of women. Furthermore, non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic Blacks smoke at higher rates than Hispanics and non-Hispanic Asians, with almost ** percent of non-Hispanic whites smoking in 2022, compared to just under **** percent of non-Hispanic Asians. Certain regions and states also have a higher prevalence of smoking than others, with around ** percent of adults in West Virginia considered current smokers, compared to just *** percent in Utah. The health impacts of smoking The decrease in smoking rates in the United States over the past decades is due to many factors, including policies and regulations limiting cigarette advertising, promotion, and sales, price increases for cigarettes, and widespread awareness among the public of the dangers of smoking. According to the CDC, those who smoke are *** to **** times more likely to develop coronary heart disease and stroke and around ** times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonsmokers. In fact, it is estimated that around ** percent of lung cancer deaths in the United States can be attributed to cigarette smoking, as well as ** percent of larynx cancer deaths. Cigarette smokers are also much more likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with around ** percent of current smokers in the U.S. living with COPD in 2021, compared to just ***** percent of those who had never smoked.

United States US: Smoking Prevalence: Males: % of Adults data was reported at 24.600 % in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 25.100 % for 2015. United States US: Smoking Prevalence: Males: % of Adults data is updated yearly, averaging 26.800 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 34.500 % in 2000 and a record low of 24.600 % in 2016. United States US: Smoking Prevalence: Males: % of Adults data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Prevalence of smoking, male is the percentage of men ages 15 and over who currently smoke any tobacco product on a daily or non-daily basis. It excludes smokeless tobacco use. The rates are age-standardized.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

US: Smoking Prevalence: Females: % of Adults data was reported at 19.100 % in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 19.600 % for 2015. US: Smoking Prevalence: Females: % of Adults data is updated yearly, averaging 21.100 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 28.400 % in 2000 and a record low of 19.100 % in 2016. US: Smoking Prevalence: Females: % of Adults data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Prevalence of smoking, female is the percentage of women ages 15 and over who currently smoke any tobacco product on a daily or non-daily basis. It excludes smokeless tobacco use. The rates are age-standardized.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

A survey from the fall of 2024, found that the most used tobacco products among college students in the United States were e-cigarettes or other vape products. At that time, around 76 percent of college students who used tobacco products in the past three months reported they used e-cigarettes or other vape products. The same survey found that among college students who reported ever using a tobacco product, around 25 percent stated they used tobacco daily or almost daily in the past three months, while 28 percent had used just once or twice. What is the most popular kind of tobacco product in the United States? Although e-cigarettes are the most used tobacco product among college students, the most commonly used form of tobacco among U.S. adults is still regular combustible cigarettes. In 2021, around 10 percent of women and 13 percent of men were current cigarette smokers, compared to four percent of women and five percent of men who smoked e-cigarettes. However, e-cigarette use is much more common among younger adults, not just college students. In 2021, around 11 percent of those aged 18 to 24 years used e-cigarettes, while five percent smoked combustible cigarettes. Smoking trends in the United States Smoking in the United States has dramatically decreased over the past few decades. In 1965, it was estimated that around 42 percent of adults in the U.S. smoked, but this number was only about 14 percent in 2019. Nevertheless, as of 2022, almost 29 million people still smoked and are at risk of premature death due to cancer, cardiovascular disease, or stroke, just a few of the risk factors of smoking. The state with the highest percentage of adults who smoke is West Virginia, while Utah has the lowest prevalence of smoking. In 2023, around 20 percent of adults in West Virginia smoked, compared to six percent in Utah.

The smoking prevalence in the United States was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total two percentage points. After the eighth consecutive decreasing year, the smoking prevalence is estimated to reach 19.93 percent and therefore a new minimum in 2029. Shown is the estimated share of the adult population (15 years or older) in a given region or country, that smoke on a daily basis. According to the WHO and World bank, smoking refers to the use of cigarettes, pipes or other types of tobacco.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the smoking prevalence in countries like Canada and Mexico.

This statistic shows the percentage of adults in the U.S. who were current cigarette smokers as of 2016, by age and gender. In 2016, approximately ** percent of surveyed men aged 18 to 24 years stated that they were current cigarette smokers, compared to **** percent of females the same age.

This statistic shows the percentage of adults in the U.S. who were current cigarette smokers as of 2016, by education level. In 2016, approximately **** percent of surveyed adults with only a GED were current smokers, compared to *** percent of those with a graduate degree.

Between 2017 and 2021, adults aged 60 to 64 years in the U.S. had a high incidence of tobacco-associated cancer, with a rate of nearly 480 per 100,000 people. This graph shows the rate of tobacco-related cancers per 100,000 people from 2017 to 2021 in the United States, by age.

County-level smoking data originating from the CDC and produced by Dwyer-Lindgren, Laura and Mokdad, Ali H. and Srebotnjak, Tanja and Flaxman, Abraham D. and Hansen, Gillian M. and Murray, Christopher JL— (2014), “Cigarette smoking prevalence in US counties: 1996-2012,” Population Health Metrics, 12, 5. Original file provided by the above authors available at https://goo.gl/tNbpsS

United States US: Prevalence of Current Tobacco Use: % of Adults data was reported at 24.300 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 24.700 % for 2021. United States US: Prevalence of Current Tobacco Use: % of Adults data is updated yearly, averaging 27.100 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2022, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 31.500 % in 2000 and a record low of 24.300 % in 2022. United States US: Prevalence of Current Tobacco Use: % of Adults data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of the population ages 15 years and over who currently use any tobacco product (smoked and/or smokeless tobacco) on a daily or non-daily basis. Tobacco products include cigarettes, pipes, cigars, cigarillos, waterpipes (hookah, shisha), bidis, kretek, heated tobacco products, and all forms of smokeless (oral and nasal) tobacco. Tobacco products exclude e-cigarettes (which do not contain tobacco), “e-cigars”, “e-hookahs”, JUUL and “e-pipes”. The rates are age-standardized to the WHO Standard Population.;World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).;Weighted average;This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.a.1 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/]. Previous indicator name: Smoking prevalence, total (ages 15+) The previous indicator excluded smokeless tobacco use, while the current indicator includes. The indicator name and definition were updated in December, 2020.

Forecast: Smoking Prevalence in the US 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

United States US: Prevalence of Current Tobacco Use: Males: % of Male Adults data was reported at 29.900 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 30.400 % for 2021. United States US: Prevalence of Current Tobacco Use: Males: % of Male Adults data is updated yearly, averaging 33.000 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2022, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 37.800 % in 2000 and a record low of 29.900 % in 2022. United States US: Prevalence of Current Tobacco Use: Males: % of Male Adults data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of the male population ages 15 years and over who currently use any tobacco product (smoked and/or smokeless tobacco) on a daily or non-daily basis. Tobacco products include cigarettes, pipes, cigars, cigarillos, waterpipes (hookah, shisha), bidis, kretek, heated tobacco products, and all forms of smokeless (oral and nasal) tobacco. Tobacco products exclude e-cigarettes (which do not contain tobacco), “e-cigars”, “e-hookahs”, JUUL and “e-pipes”. The rates are age-standardized to the WHO Standard Population.;World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).;Weighted average;This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.a.1 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/]. Previous indicator name: Smoking prevalence, males (% of adults) The previous indicator excluded smokeless tobacco use, while the current indicator includes it. The indicator name and definition were updated in December, 2020.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Tobacco and Smoking Products in U.S. City Average (CUSR0000SEGA) from Jan 1986 to Jun 2025 about tobacco, urban, production, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

This statistic shows the adult male smoking prevalence in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan in 1960, 2010 and 2013. The male smoking rate in Japan fell from 81 percent to 35 percent over this period.

According to a survey from 2024, around 25 percent of college students in the United States who had used tobacco or nicotine products in their lifetime used them daily or almost daily during the last 3 months. This statistic presents the percentage of college students in the U.S. that had used tobacco or nicotine products during the past 3 months as of fall 2024, by frequency.