From 1965 to 2022, 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.

The global smoking prevalence in was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total *** percentage points. After the ****** consecutive decreasing year, the smoking prevalence is estimated to reach ***** 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 *** 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 North America and Caribbean.

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.

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

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;

This dataset provides prevalence estimates by county, year, and sex from 1996 to 2012.

Historical dataset showing North America smoking rate by year from 2000 to 2022.

Annual data on the proportion of adults in Great Britain who smoke cigarettes, cigarette consumption, the proportion who have never smoked cigarettes and the proportion of smokers who have quit by sex and age over time.

Historical dataset showing Virgin Islands (U.S.) smoking rate by year from N/A to N/A.

Smoking rates for each Census Tract in Allegheny County were produced for the study “Developing small-area predictions for smoking and obesity prevalence in the United States.” The data is not explicitly based on population surveys or data collection conducted in Allegheny County, but rather estimated using statistical modeling techniques. In this technique, researchers applied the smoking rate of a demographically similar Census Tract to one in Allegheny County to compute a smoking rate.

Support for Health Equity datasets and tools provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) through their Health Equity Initiative.

Number and percentage of persons being current smokers, by age group and sex.

It is projected that the prevalence of tobacco smoking will be 15.4 percent by 2025, a decrease from a prevalence of 27 percent in the year 2000. This statistic depicts the prevalence of tobacco smoking worldwide from 2000 to 2020 and projections for 2025.

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;

This dataset provides smoking prevalence estimates and annualized rates of change by county from 1996 to 2012.

Historical dataset showing Latin America & Caribbean smoking rate by year from 2000 to 2022.

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