Adult smoking rate drops to another historic low of 15.1 percent in 2015

[onehandle]

Source: Winston-Salem Journal

Traditional cigarette smoking among adult Americans dropped to a historic low in 2015, nearly two percentage points below the previous level, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday. The rate of 15.1 percent, or about 37.4 million adults, represents more proof of declining smoking, considering the rate was 16.8 percent in 2014, 20.9 percent in 2005 and 24.7 percent in 1997.

The CDC issued an early release of data from the 2015 National Health interview survey. It did not include specific comment on the 15 public-health categories in the report. About 16.7 percent of adult men smoke, compared with 13.6 percent of women. Males between ages 18 and 44 represent the largest smoking segment at 18.5 percent.

Adult whites smoke at a 17.4 percent rate, along with 16.8 percent for blacks and 9.9 percent for Hispanics. The CDC has said smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, resulting annually in 480,000 premature deaths and more than $300 billion in direct health-care expenditures and productivity losses. The Healthy People 2020 initiative has set a goal of reducing the adult smoking rate to at least 12 percent.

Even with the decreasing adult smoking rates, Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and ITG Brands LLC continue to show quarterly and annual revenue gains in part through per-pack list price increases to distributors that are passed on to consumers. As has been the case for several years, explanations for the declining smoking rate vary, depending mostly on the commentator's position on smokeless tobacco.

Read more: http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/adult-smoking-rate-drops-to-another-historic-low-of-percent/article_bed1607a-92c8-530d-9f50-36dc2c88a330.html

[Jackie Wilson Said]

1. Watching "Preacher" on AMC and the Preacher lights up at one point.

Rare to see people smoke on film anymore even.

[pmorlan1]

3. You Can Always Watch

old movies. I love old movies.

[IrishEyes]

10. It is always strange to see.

I was watching a bunch of old episodes of Columbo. Everyone was smoking everywhere.

[JDPriestly]

2. Good news. I'm a Bernie supporter, but I will credit the Clintons for a big role in this.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

4. My first big quit was in '09.

I had just turned 29. The quit triggered latent crazy anxiety that runs in my family. As an active, gigging musician, I've played in one too many smokey bars. Around the age of 32, I took smoking back up. Now at 36, I've been smoke free for a year. I have an ecig with 0% nicotine that I carry with me to the various venues and bars I play at when the urge may hit me. Which is almost never.

Glad to see the national rate is going down, too. As much as we romanticize about smoking, it's really bad for our health. Not worth the "coolness" factor.

[scscholar]

5. You wouldn't know that in Seattle

There are tons of people smoking outside of restaurants and bars. You can't walk down the sidewalk without choking.

[onehandle]

6. Must be a lot of poor people there.

The vast majority of tobacco companies' victims these days are in the lowest income brackets.

Nicotine is more addictive than heroin.

[Recursion]

7. Being a southerner I still think of smokeless as pretty much universal

But, hey, good news is good news.

[Warpy]

8. It is out west, too

Lots of tell tale circular wear patterns in jeans back pockets from those Skoal cans.

I guess it's hard to fool around with cigarettes when you're working cattle.

[Recursion]

9. I got into it in the military.

Lighting a match fucks up your night vision, so smokeless is better for guard duty.