Cigarettes and Tobacco News

Nov 11, 2005, ATLANTA -- The smoking rate among U.S. adults continues to inch downward, with 20.9 percent of Americans describing themselves as regular puffers last year.

That is a decline from 21.6 percent in 2003 and 22.5 percent in 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

The fall from 2002 to 2004 was the largest two-year drop since the late 1980s, public health advocates noted.

The report said that in 2004, 25 percent of Hoosiers smoked.

Increased cigarette taxes, workplace smoking bans and state-based prevention efforts are the main reasons for the decline, said Dr. Corinne Husten, acting director of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health.

"It is good news for our nation's health that adult smoking rates are declining again," said Matthew Myers, president of the Washington-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "But it is also clear that elected officials at all levels must do more to implement the scientifically proven measures that have produced these declines."

The results are based on a national household survey of 31,326 adults. People were defined as current smokers if they had smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and said they still smoked on a daily or occasional basis. The margin of error was plus or minus 0.6 percentage point.

Smoking rates were highest among American Indians and Alaska Natives.