Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults - United States, 2016.

Ahmed Jamal,Brian A King,Elyse Phillips,Linda J Neff,Stephen D Babb,David M Homa,Andrea S Gentzke

doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6702a1

Abstract

The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that the burden of death and disease from tobacco use in the United States is overwhelmingly caused by cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products (1). Cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. adults, and about 480,000 U.S. deaths per year are caused by cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure (1). To assess progress toward the Healthy People 2020 target of reducing the proportion of U.S. adults aged ≥18 years who smoke cigarettes to ≤12.0% (objective TU-1.1),* CDC analyzed data from the 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). In 2016, the prevalence of current cigarette smoking among adults was 15.5%, which was a significant decline from 2005 (20.9%); however, no significant change has occurred since 2015 (15.1%). In 2016, the prevalence of cigarette smoking was higher among adults who were male, aged 25-64 years, American Indian/Alaska Native or multiracial, had a General Education Development (GED) certificate, lived below the federal poverty level, lived in the Midwest or South, were uninsured or insured through Medicaid, had a disability/limitation, were lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB), or had serious psychological distress. During 2005-2016, the percentage of ever smokers who quit smoking increased from 50.8% to 59.0%. Proven population-based interventions are critical to reducing the health and economic burden of smoking-related diseases among U.S. adults, particularly among subpopulations with the highest smoking prevalences (1,2).

Highlights

During 2005–2016, the prevalence of cigarette smoking among U.S adults declined from 20.9% to 15.5%, and the proportion of ever smokers who had quit increased
Racial or ethnic differences might be partly explained by sociocultural influences and norms related to the acceptability of tobacco use and variations in exposure to tobacco marketing, whereas disparities by education might be partly attributable to variations in TABLE
Longstanding declines in the proportion of daily smokers who smoked ≥20 cigarettes per day have stalled in recent years. These findings could be the result of multiple factors, including slowed progress in the adoption of proven interventions [9], or increased nicotine dependence from the concurrent use of other tobacco products [1]

Summary

82 QuickStats

For adults aged ≥65 years, includes adults who do not have any private coverage but have Medicare and Medicaid or other state-sponsored health plans including CHIP; Medicare only: Includes older adults who only have Medicare coverage; Other coverage: Includes adults who do not have private insurance, Medicaid, or other public coverage, but who have any type of military coverage or Medicare (for those aged

Findings

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Discussion